


I Feel it for You

by pinkfingernails



Category: Legacies - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Hosie, Legacies, Slow Burn, Summer Camp AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:00:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 22,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27344701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkfingernails/pseuds/pinkfingernails
Summary: the hosie summer camp au that nobody asked for
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 147
Kudos: 299





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hiiii! i’ve had this idea in my head for a while and have no idea where i’m gonna go with it but i hope you like it!! this chapter is shorter than what the rest will probably be, but i wanted to get it started!  
> also the title is taken from the song Feel It by Gia Woods:))

_Summer camp_.

There were no two words that Hope hated more.

The preppy camp that Hope's parents had been sending her to since she was seven was only 13 hours away from her home in New Orleans, but it seemed to last forever. Hope used to enjoy the car ride, singing along to the radio with her parents, stopping at rest stops, classic road trip stuff.

After her parents died, Hope wasn't so fond of the car ride anymore.

Her Aunt Freya drives her, humming along to a song on the radio while Hope stares longingly out of the window.

In the ten years Hope had been going to the Salvatore Summer Camp, she hadn't made any friends that mattered enough to her to keep in touch with throughout the rest of the year. She got close with the Saltzman twins the summer after her parents died, but it faded after Lizzie started talking shit. Hope still doesn't know why.

At least she only has one summer left after this one.

"We're thirty minutes out," Freya says, pulling onto a road that seems to go on forever. The camp was in the middle of nowhere and there was nothing around for miles. 

"I know this isn't your ideal summer, Hope," Freya speaks up. "Just try to have fun, 'kay hon?"

  
"Or," Hope begins. "We can turn around and go home!"

"So you can spend the rest of your summer in your room? Definitely not." Freya pauses and Hope lets out a sigh. "This camp was really important to your father."

"Guilting me into wanting to go! Nice," Hope answered, faking a cheerful tone. 

Freya was right. The summer camp had been built by a close friend of her dad's who happens to be the Saltzman twins' mom. After he heard about the camp being built, he jumped at the opportunity to help. Handed over a fat check to help with construction. Hope's always felt kind of guilty about hating camp. Her mother sent her there thinking it would be a safe, fun place for Hope to make friends.

"I'll behave," Hope says finally, propping her feet on top of the dashboard which Freya quickly shoves off.

"That's the spirit!" Freya exclaims, and the two go over a particularly rough patch of road.

The smooth, asphalt road is gone and replaced by rocks, forcing Freya to slow down. Hope knows that means the camp should be coming up soon. She leans her head on her hand and takes a deep breath, taking in her last moments of freedom.

Hope's eyes shoot open when a symphony of whistles, screams, and horns welcome them to the camp. The owners of the camp, Alaric and Caroline, along with the staff stand at the entrance, blowing into whistles and going crazy whenever anyone enters the camp. Hope thinks that that _must_ get old.

She glares at her aunt, who smiles brightly. 

Freya pulls over to the shoulder of the uneven road and is greeted by Alaric, who holds a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other.

"Freya! It's so good to see you," he exclaims. Hope always detests how cheerful he always is. No _way_ someone can be that happy all the time. 

"Ready for a great summer, Hope?" he asks. Hope gives him a pained smile and stares out of the other side of the window.

Freya gets Hope all set and checked in and Hope is forced to hop out of the car, unloading her bags from the trunk of Freya's car. Alaric hands her a t-shirt and a lanyard with her cabin name on it.

"You'll be staying in the Bennett cabin this year," Alaric says bubbly, pointing towards a cabin in the distance. Hope raises her eyebrows and fakes an excited smile. 

A few minutes later, Freya's wrapped Hope up in a tight hug, and Hope has to admit, it's hard to leave her family every summer. She'll be here for a month without her phone or any way to talk to her aunts and uncles. Not having that connection has always been hard for her ever since she lost her parents.

"Your counselors will meet with you this evening to go over some things but for now, you can take you things to your cabin and get settled in," Alaric says once Frey's gone. "I'll see you tonight!"

Hope wonders how many fake smiles she'll have to force out over the course of this month.

She grabs her bags and heads to her cabin which is positioned at the outside of the campgrounds. The older kids always get the more secluded cabins, while the younger kids stay in the center, close to the kitchen and counselor's quarters.

Hope manages to get her bags up the stairs to her cabin and says a quick prayer that she'll have at least one bunkmate she'll get along with. 

Word got around fast once Hope's parents died. All of the kids her age wither pitied her to the point where it got annoying, or avoided her, not wanting to deal with the tension that came with her trauma.

Hope swings the door open and hears the voices in her room before she sees the girls she's rooming with.

She immediately makes eye contact with the first girl. Hope recognizes her curly brown hair and brown eyes. The girl's smile drops when she sees Hope walk through the door.

"Of _course_ Dad put her in our room," another voice asks. Hope shoots her eyes towards the direction of the voice and sees the brunette girl's blonde counterpart. Hope breathes in a deep breath to steady herself before walking into the room quietly and setting her things on her bed.

She'll be spending the month rooming with the _Saltzman twins_. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updating two days in a row because i already had chapter two written, but i will probably post a couple times a week:) i hope you’re liking this story so far!  
> keep yourself safe and do something nice for yourself<3

Josie and Lizzie Saltzman were bitches. End of story.

Well, at least to Hope they were. To their father, they were perfect angels. To the rest of the camp, they were the golden girls. They only ever act hostile towards Hope. Especially Lizzie.

Lizzie was always the one kickstarting issues with Hope. Josie usually trailed behind, keeping her mouth shut but still doing whatever Lizzie told her to do.

Hope had always thought Josie was quite pretty. Well, pretty doesn't even _begin_ to describe what Josie Saltzman looked like. 

Hope always wondered how Josie's hair always looked perfect. Even in the middle of nowhere without a curling iron in sight, the brunette girl always seemed to have perfectly styled locks. Her skin had this sort of permanent glow like she sat under the sun and let it soak into her skin. Josie also smelled really good. Like flowers and vanilla extract and-

"Hey, Hope!" Josie says cheerfully and Hope wonders if she's faking it. How do she and her father have this energy? Hope mumbles hello and busies herself by unpacking her bags.

"Maybe it was a mistake!" Lizzie chimes in. Josie shoots her a glare and Hope pretends not to notice. 

"Whatever," Lizzie says. "I'll be spending most of my time in Sebastian's cabin anyways." She says the boy's name like it's sacred, and Hope's mouth forms into a grin when she catches Josie rolling her eyes. 

"Speak of the devil," Lizzie says when the cabin door opens. She immediately jumps into the boy's arms, planting a sloppy kiss on his mouth. The boy is quite handsome and looks older than Lizzie, probably around Hope's age.

"I've missed you, darling," the boy says, his voice thick with a British accent. He presses another kiss onto Lizzie's lips and sets her down, holding his hand out to Hope who sits, uninterested, on her bed.

"I'm Sebastian," he says, awkwardly shaking hands with Hope. What teenager shakes hands anymore?

"This is Hope," Josie chimes in, to Hope's surprise. "She's rooming with us this year!"

"Nice to meet you!" he replies, then whispers something in Lizzie's ear. She rolls her eyes and nods and immediately Hope doesn't think she liked Sebastian very much.

Sebastian and Lizzie leave the door after an awkward silence, leaving Hope and Josie alone in the cabin.

"So..." Hope begins, her voice somewhat timid. "They're like... dating?" 

"Lizzie is hopelessly in love with him but I don't think it's gonna last through the summer, if I'm being honest," Josie replies, which makes both girls laugh.

"Brutally honest," Hope says. "I like it." She feels the blush creep up to her cheeks.

She regrets saying anything. She's supposed to hate Josie.

Hope opens her mouth to talk until someone knocks on the doorframe of the cabin.

Penelope Park stands in the doorway, her resting bitch face just as powerful as ever. Penelope had been going to camp ever since Hope could remember. She and Josie dated for a while but they apparently had a messy breakup. Hope doesn't know all the details.

Penelope's eyes are already bloodshot and when Hope takes a breath, she can smell weed in the air.

"Already stoned, huh, Park?"

"You want some? Maybe it'll loosen you up a bit," Penelope replies with a smirk. Hope ignores her.

"What do you want, Penelope?" Josie asks, her voice rather timid.

"What, do I need an excuse to visit my _favorite_ twin?"

Josie glares at her but doesn't respond. Penelope drops her smirk and uncrosses her arms.

"There's some meeting in the main building in like ten minutes," Penelope says. "I also came to formally invite you to my opening day party tonight."  


Penelope Park and her brother's parties were famous at the Salvatore Camp. Well, rather infamous. Her brother, Jed, aged out of camp a few years ago but comes back as a counselor, so the tradition of his wild parties lives on. Everyone at camp has heard stories of the shit that goes down at those parties. A couple of years back, a rumor spread about some kid that blacked out and woke up on a mattress in the middle of the lake. Apparently, he floated so far into the lake, Mr. Saltzman had to call the police on the emergency phone.

Hope doesn't know if all of the stories are true, but they've scared her enough to not attend any of the parties.

"Why do you want us there?" Josie asked. "You've never invited us before."

"Maybe I'm feeling generous," Penelope says, a cheeky grin gracing her lips. "So _paranoid_ today, Jojo! You worried you might start crushing again?"

Hope's blood boils when she sees the look on Josie's face. A look of hurt and anger masks her face and her cheeks have turned a bright pink.

"Leave her alone, Penelope," Hope mutters.

"What was that, Mikaelson?" Penelope turned towards Hope, a nasty tone in her voice. "You fucking her now?" 

Josie's eyes widen but Hope doesn't let her stoic look falter. She clenches her fists so hard she thinks she might draw blood.

"What if I was?" Hope asks.

Josie starts to speak. "Hope don't-"

"No, Josie. I want to know. If she's so over your breakup, why would it matter if we were fooling around?"

Hope thinks she sees a falter in Penelope's confidence, and the glint of conviction in her eyes falls away.

"Whatever, Mikaelson," Penelope finally says. "I'm not interested in _sloppy seconds_ , anyways." 

Penelope's voice drips with hate, and she raises an eyebrow at Josie before turning and leaving the cabin. Leaving Josie, speechless, sitting on her bed, and Hope gritting her teeth so hard they might fall out of her mouth.

"I'm gonna kill her," Hope says, her jaw tight with tension. "Someone needs to put that bitch in her place."

"Relax, Hope," Josie says in a soothing voice. "It's Penelope. What else do you expect?"

"Is this how she treated you? You don't deserve that, Jo," Hope says defensively.

"Why do you care so much?" Josie asks, staring at Hope with this raw, questioning intensity.

Hope tries to muster an answer in her head. She hasn't talked to Josie Saltzman in a friendly way in years, why does she feel this primal need to protect her?

"You know what," Josie says before Hope can open her mouth to talk. "Forget it. I'll see you later, Hope."

Josie grabs her things and leaves the cabin swiftly and before Hope can call Josie's name, she's gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you liked this chapter:)) thank you for all your nice comments!


	3. Chapter 3

The main building of the camp is rather small and smells like fried food. Hope always hated the smell.

The room is packed with kids, too many for Hope's taste, and way too loud. Some of the youngest kids are crying, clutching to their counselors for dear life. Hope spots Penelope standing against the wall opposite of Hope, standing with a bunch of her goons.

Hope doesn't see Josie anywhere.

Hope wanders around the busy room alone, debating going back to her room before Mr. Saltzman shows up but before she's able to leave, the man walks onto the stage. He taps the microphone and it fills the room with feedback, almost comically. 

"Hello, campers!" he says and the room falls silent. "My name is Alaric Saltzman and welcome to Salvatore Summer Camp!"

The room erupts with clapping and whooping and Hope continues to stand in the back with a frown permanently plastered on her face. She debates slipping out through the back door until she sees Josie, Lizzie, and their mother join Alaric onstage. 

Josie and Lizzie's mother, Caroline, was close with Hope's father. Well, _close_ isn't exactly the right word. Hope's mother had told her they were in love. Hope's dad died before they could ever pursue anything. Seeing Caroline always made the stinging feeling in Hope's heart return.

Caroline walks up to the mic, introducing herself and explaining some of the different things they'd be doing that summer. Hope isn't listening, though, she's too busy watching Josie, who sways back and forth uncomfortable onstage. Lizzie shoots her a glare and she stops moving, clasping her hands together behind her back.

Hope gets that protective feeling again, like she wants to punch anyone who's ever been mean to Josie Saltzman. God, why is she feeling like this? And why now?

Hope has known Josie for nearly a decade. They grew up together, even if they weren't always friends. She's seen Josie grow her hair out long and cut it off, she's seen her go through years of braces and acne. Now, the Josie that stands in front of her, her legs going on for miles, her hair flowing down her shoulders like silk...

"Stop," Hope blurts out, not even realizing she'd said it out loud. A couple of kids turn their heads, but most are too focused on what Caroline is saying to notice. Hope turns her attention back to the stage.

"I hope you've all found your correct cabins and settled in well. I look forward to seeing you all bright and early tomorrow!" Caroline exclaims cheerfully. "You're all dismissed!" 

The room slowly clears out and once Hope gets outside, she feels like she can breathe again. The sky is a mixture of pinks and oranges; Hope has always liked sunsets. 

All the kids start to disperse in groups; some counselors take the youngest kids to their cabins, another group of pre-teen-aged boys tease a group of girls their age. Hope walks to her cabin alone, not knowing if she should dread seeing Josie or not. 

Josie and Lizzie haven't made it to their cabin when Hope gets there and she wonders if they've already gone to Penelope's party. 

The main building sits to the left of the lake, which is huge and smack-dab in the middle of the camp. The woods that surround the camp had always scared Hope; her uncles have told her too many ghost stories for her to not fear the dark. 

Even with a moon as full as the one tonight, reflecting on the clear water of the lake and offering a bit of light to illuminate Hope's path back to the cabin.

A trio of kids Hope's age pushes past her, running towards the woods. They turn to look at Hope, running backward, and Hope can see that it's Landon, Rafael, and MG, the latter of the three she had gone to camp with for years but never really became friends with.

"You going to Park's party?" Raf asks. "It's Lan's first time."

Hope looks at the boys, still walking slowly, wanting so bad to decline the offer. Why do they care so much that she goes?

"Come on, Mikaelson," MG pleads. "Just have fun!"

Hope grits her teeth but forces herself to take a breath. "Fine."

The boys cheer and MG grabs Hope's arm, leading the four of them into the heart of the surrounding woods. 

\-----

Hope was already a couple of drinks in by the time she spotted the brunette girl. She blamed the alcohol for her lack of inhibition. 

Someone's made a huge bonfire, and Penelope and Jed have managed to sneak in enough alcohol get an elephant drunk. Hope stumbles around by herself for a while before she sees Josie with her group of friends. She wanders over to them.

"What is _she_ doing here," Lizzie asks when Hope approaches. Hope can smell the alcohol on Lizzie even from a distance.

"Don't be a bitch, Salzman," Hope slurs. "Just because your dad runs the stupid camp doesn't mean you're the fucking princess around here."

Hope glances at the people around her. Lizzie is leaning against Sebastian, his arms wrapped around her protectively. Fitting, Hope thinks. MG and Kaleb have stalked over, but Hope figures they're too drunk to register the situation. Josie stands alone, her hands wrapped around a red cup that Hope doubts is filled with anything but water. She looks at Hope with concern.

"What, and you are?" Lizzie responds, walking closer to Hope.

"Aw, Lizzie, be careful!" Hope starts, her voice rich with sarcasm. "You don't have your little boyfriend to help you!"

"Hope..." Josie warns. Hope doesn't even look her way.

"No, Jo! Let her talk," Lizzie says defensively and then mutters under her breath. "Maybe if her parents didn't die she wouldn't be so fucking stuck up."

Hope doesn't think about what she does next. Lizzie's comment makes her blood boil under her skin and her face feel burning hot. She winds back her fist without thinking and plants it square at Lizzie's nose, making the girl scream.

"What the fuck, Hope!" someone calls, but Hope isn't sure if it's Josie or Lizzie. She turns on her heel and heads back through the woods, stumbling on her feet the way there.

"Hope!" someone calls once Hope makes it further into the woods. She hears footsteps running after her.

"Leave me alone, Saltzman," Hope says, turning towards the girl. "I don't want to punch you aga-"

It's not Lizzie that stands behind Hope, but Josie.

"What do you want, Josie."

"What do _I_ want? What was that stunt you just pulled?" 

"Did you hear what she said? She brought my fucking parents into it," Hope replies, gaining control over her voice.

"You didn't have to punch her," Josie says, her voice small. "You broke her nose."

"Well, teaches her good. Maybe she won't be such a bitch to me for no reason."

"Give her a break, Hope," Josie says. "She's just going through a hard time right now is all."

"She's been 'going through a hard time' for _years_ now. Build a bridge..." Hope trails off when she gets a good look at Josie's eyes. They're a deep brown and sparkle with the reflection of the moon. They're also glistening with tears.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Hope says. "I don't know what I did that made you both hate me."

"I don't- _We_ don't hate you, Hope. Lizzie's just..."

"Manipulating, rude, conniving twin from hell-"

"She's _hurt_ , Hope. You don't know her as well as you think you do," Josie explains. Hope seems to hang on to her words carefully. "And _I_ , well... I just-"

Before Josie can get another word out, Hope hears her name called behind her and turns towards the sound.

"Dad!"

"Mr. Saltzman!" both girls say in unison when they see the man marching towards them. He has a look of anger plastered onto his face and hope knows Lizzie must have snitched. 

"Hope Mikaelson. My office. Now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you guys are liking this story, it's been fun to write so far:) let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! this chapter is shorter than the others but it worked for what i'm planning:)

Hope falls hard onto the chair in Alaric's office, slouching and crossing her arms. Lizzie sits in the chair across from her with a blood-soaked tissue pressed against her nose, and her father at his desk.

Hope scans the room; She's been here plenty of times. Some screens play footage of the front gates of the camp as well as the main building. There's various paraphernalia from the camp and boxes upon boxes stacked on the walls.

"Daddy," Lizzie urges. "Are you gonna say something??"

Alaric doesn't respond, but he leans his elbows on his desk and rubs his forehead with one hand.

"Even her own dad gets annoyed at her presence..." Hope mutter on her breath.

"Cut it, Mikaelson," Lizzie growls. She's removed the tissue from her face and Hope can see the damage she's done to her nose.

"Damn, Saltzman. I've got a great arm-"

"Hope," Alaric interrupts. "Please."

"Aren't you gonna punish her?!" Lizzie whines. "She punched me in the face!"

Hope wants to call out "she started it!" but she knows her father would _kill_ her if she ever stooped down to such a childish level. 

"Elizabeth, you can head to the infirmary. I will punish Miss Mikaelson as I see fit," Alaric responds and Lizzie exits the room, pushing Hope's shoulder before leaving the room.

Alaric and Hope sit in silence.

"You can't say she didn't deserve it..." Hope trails off, her voice getting small. "What are you gonna tell my aunt?"

"You're not going to get in trouble, Hope." Hope's eyes widen. 

"What?"

"I'm not going to punish you. Josie explained the situation to me. Lizzie had no right to do what she did, I apologize on her behalf."

Hope is surprised. She had never been Alaric's favorite, but they both had an understanding of each other. Alaric and Hope's father were friends before he passed away. Alaric knows how important Hope was to her dad.

"However," he continues. "I can't have you two staying together all month. You'll have a cabin to yourself."

_Great_. Hope is already an outcast and now she's even more alienated than she was before. 

"There's no one else I can stay with?" she asks.

"Word got around," Alaric replies. "Would you want to stay with the girl that broke the director's kid's nose?"

Hope doesn't think she would care very much, but she nods anyway.

"I'll have somebody get your things and take them to your new cabin." Alaric hands Hope a new lanyard with the name of a new cabin on it. With that, she's able to leave.

Before she's able to leave, though, Alaric speaks up.

"Hope," he begins, and Hope turns towards him. "I'm... I'm sorry, again, for what Lizzie said. I know... we all know how much your parents meant to you."

Hope nods and turns again, making her way to her new cabin, eyes blurred with tears.

\---

Hope's new cabin is even further away from the center of the camp than the Bennet cabin was. It's Pierce cabin, which no one ever stays in. Apparently, before the camp opened, someone went into the Pierce cabin and never came out. Hope never believed that story but now that she's here, standing in front of the desolate cabin, she thinks that it can't be too far from the truth.

The cabin is smaller than the other ones, since it's made for one person, and looks a little more... run-down than the others. Hope figures it's because no camper had ever stayed there since the camp opened. 

The door makes a heinous creaking sound when Hope pushes it open, and she steps into the space that she'll be spending all her time in for the next four weeks. 

It's more spacious than she thought, and someone has come in and brought her bags, as well as putting a pale blue comforter on the bed, making the space a little more homely.

"This can't be so bad," Hope says to herself, turning around herself in the cramped space. She flops down on the bed, which makes a loud squeaking sound. 

Someone knocks on the door, making Hope sit up quickly before rolling her eyes when she sees who enters the room.

"What do you want, Park?" Hope asks when she sees Penelope standing in the doorway.

"I'm here to congratulate you, Hope," The raven-haired girl says, leaning on the doorframe. "I saw what you did to Saltzman's nose."

Hope stifles a laugh, thinking of Lizzie toppling backward after Hope punched her. She doesn't give Penelope the satisfaction of seeing Hope laugh, though. She doesn't really want anything to do with the other girl, after everything she did to Josie.

"You didn't come all the way here to say that," Hope spits out. "What do you want."

Penelope sighs before walking further into Hope's cabin, which puts Hope on edge.

"I want to get back at Lizzie Saltzman," Penelope says maliciously. "And I need you to help me." 

In all honesty, Hope would love to get revenge on Lizzie. Not only for talking down about Hope's parents, but also for being a bitch to Josie for both of their whole lives. Hope raises an eyebrow at Penelope.

"And what do you need me for?" She asks. "You can get any of your other friends to help you. I'm sure somebody else hates her enough to care."

"First of all, we-" Penelope gestures to herself and Hope "-aren't friends. But, I know one of Lizzie's weaknesses."

Penelope pauses. Hope hangs on to her every word, against her good judgment.

"Her sister," Penelope finishes. "That's where you come in."

"I don't like where this is going..." Hope trails off.

" _You_ are gonna get back at Lizzie through Josie."

Hope just stares at the other girl, not understanding where she's going.

"Are you thick?!" Penelope snaps. "You're gonna make Josie Saltzman fall in love with you, and then you're gonna screw her over."

Penelope's words twist Hope's insides into knots. _No_. She couldn't do that. Not to Josie. Out of all the people at camp, Josie Saltzman is the last person she'd want to hurt. She's the closest Hope has to a friend, and calling her _that_ is even a stretch. 

"No," Hope says sternly. "Don't get me involved in your petty shit, Park."

Penelope opens her mouth to talk again but Hope continues.

"How would fake-dating Josie get to Lizzie, anyway?"

"You're just the distraction, Mikaelson," Penelope replies, a smug smirk pasted onto her face. "Lizzie may be popular but deep down, Josie is all she has. Once she loses Josie to you, that's where I come in. Teach her once and for all that she's not the queen bee she thinks she is."

What is Hope supposed to say? Part of her wants to get back at Lizzie for everything she's ever done. Another part of her knows that hurting Josie would be even worse. Josie wouldn't be paying for anything, she'd just be heartbroken.

"What do you say?" Penelope says smugly. "You in?"

"Get out, Penelope," Hope says, ignoring the devil on her shoulder that pressures her to punish Lizzie. "I don't want any part of this."

"Whatever, Hope," Penelope bites back, before turning and leaving Hope alone in her cabin.

Hope stands in the darkness of her cabin, contemplating calling Penelope back in and figuring out a plan. Surely it wouldn't work, right? Fake-dating Josie would just be manipulation, which is exactly what Lizzie does.

Hope can't ignore the thoughts that spiral around her mind. Thoughts of finally humiliating Lizzie after years of making snarky comebacks at Hope and controlling everyone around her. Plus, Hope can't rid her mind of what Lizzie said about her parents, about her. 

Hope pulls the door of her cabin open, surprised to see that Penelope never left and is standing on the other side of the door.

Penelope just raises a quizzical brow, looking at Hope intensely.

Hope swallows thickly. "I'm in." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhh i hope you like this idea. i hate myself for it


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this chapter could have been longer but i cut it for dramatic purposes... i am so glad you guys are enjoying this! your comments make me so happy. i will probably update sooner than later cause i'm excited about this hehe

"What's my in?" Hope asks.

It's the next day. Penelope woke Hope up at an unreasonable hour, planning what Hope will do to get Josie out of the twins' cabin tonight.

Penelope raises a suspicious eyebrow.

"How am I supposed to ask her?? I can't exactly take her to dinner, Park, we're in the middle of nowhere."

Penelope thinks for a moment before speaking, her eyes sparkling with mischief. 

"I can throw another party," she finally says. 

Hope rolls her eyes. "Nothing says 'be my pretend girlfriend' like a party in the middle of the woods. No."

"You can always steal shit from the kitchen and plan a picnic," Penelope says. "That's not as fun, though."

"No," Hope starts. "I think you're onto something. I'll plan a dinner. By the time the sun sets, it'll be too dark for anyone to see us and you can do whatever you're gonna do to Lizzie. Midnight picnics under the stars is romantic, right?"

"Whatever you say, Mikaelson," Penelope says, before turning and leaving Hope alone again.

Hope lies down on her bed, letting out a breath she feels like she's been holding forever. She knows this is wrong. She knows that one way or another, Josie is going to end up getting hurt, which is the opposite of what Hope wants. Maybe she can trick Penelope. Make her _think_ she's dating Josie while in reality, she's just having... friendly outings with the girl. That can work, right?

Hope feels like she's fighting with herself. 

She forces herself out of her bed and pulls on her Salvatore Camp t-shirt and heads down to the lake, where all of the kids her age have already crowded on the dock. She notices Lizzie is standing in the center of the group; a bandage has been wrapped around her nose and bruising has developed under her right eye. Hope makes a note to laugh about it later. 

"Thank you for joining us, Miss Mikaelson!" Caroline says, holding a megaphone and standing in the center of the group. "As I was saying-"

Hope dozes off as Caroline continues to talk about the morning activities: canoeing to the other side of the lake and setting up a picnic lunch.

"Hope?" a voice calls, and Hope sees the brunette girl standing in front of her.

"W-What?" Hope asks, snapping out of it. 

"I said I guess we're partners," Josie says cheerfully. Hope looks at the group, noticing that everyone has already paired up, leaving her and Josie as the last two. Hope's eyes meet Penelope's, who gives her an impressed look and a shrug.

Hope watches Josie step into one of the canoes in front of them. She watches her long, slender legs peeking out through her shorts and realizes she has never appreciated them before. Even with no curling iron or hairdryer, Josie's brown locks have managed to stay maintained and as beautiful as ever. Hope zones out again, staring at the girl as she settles in the small boat. 

It takes Josie calling Hope's name again to snap her out of it.

"Hope," she calls. "You gonna get in?"

Hope notices how Josie's mouth curls around the syllable of her name. She doesn't think she's ever heard it said so gracefully before.

_God_ , what is up with her?

Hope attempts to take a seat in the canoe with ease but ends up toppling forward a bit, grabbing onto Josie's shoulders for balance and making a fool of herself in the process.

Josie pats one of Hope's hands and makes her blush even more. She masks her embarrassment terribly and finally settles into the boat.

"Okay, everyone!" Caroline calls, standing at the edge of the dock, speaking through a megaphone. "The last team to reach the shore gets to do dishes tonight!"

With that, each team starts paddling.

Hope doesn't think she would mind doing the dishes, especially with Josie to help her, but by the way the other girl paddles furiously, Hope assumes Josie doesn't exactly fancy dishwashing.

Hope's seated behind Josie, so close to the other girl that her knees might brush Josie's back if she moves back or Hope moves forward an inch. Hope is acutely aware of how the humidity and physical exertion has caused drops of sweat to fall down Josie's back, and she absentmindedly forgets how to row a boat.

"So," Josie says, breaking the uncomfortable silence that has settled between them. "My dad didn't really punish you."

"Not really," Hope replies, paddling harder now that she's back in her head. "He wasn't too happy with what Lizzie said about my parents."

Josie is silent for a moment. "I'm sorry." She turns her head to get a look at Hope, and Hope gets a glimpse of Josie's side-profile, the way her nose tips up gently and her hair has fallen from her ponytail to frame her face perfectly. 

"You didn't do anything," Hope says, shaking her head. She's made the girl upset. "It's not your fault that your sister's a bitch."

"She's not a bitch-" Josie speaks up before cutting herself off. "Okay, she _is_ difficult, but she has her moments." 

"She's not the one apologizing to me, though."

Josie doesn't respond. She faces forward and continues paddling. The silence falls between them again, and neither girl talks until they reach the shore.

To Hope's surprise, she and Josie weren't the last to make it to shore. That award was given to Landon and Raf, who mutter under their breath when they find out they're stuck with the dishes. 

The group treks up the bank of the lake and on top of a grassy hill surrounded by hills just as noon rolls around, and Caroline and some of the other counselors get to work setting up foods and blankets for everyone to sit on. 

Josie has left and wandered over to her group of friends, who keep glancing back at Hope as they talk.

"Nice work, Mikaelson," someone says, and Hope spins around to see Penelope standing behind her. 

"What did I do?" Hope asks.

Penelope rolls her eyes. "I saw Saltzman _gazing_ over at you during the canoe ride," she replies. "I also happened to see her evil twin staring. Much to her dismay, I might add."

Hope runs her hand through her frizzy hair nervously. "I don't know how good of an idea this is, Penelope," she says, glancing over at Josie sitting innocently with her friends.

Penelope shakes her head almost comedically. "We shook on it, Mikaelson," she says matter-of-factly.

Had they really? 

"Figure out a way to ask her to your little picnic before lunch ends. I need her out of the cabin tonight."

Penelope leaves before Hope even gets a chance to respond, leaving her wondering what the raven-haired girl might have in mind to torture the blonde twin. Surely nothing... dangerous, right? Penelope Park may be malicious, but she wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone. Right?

Hope starts to regret agreeing to their plan before it even starts. 

\---

The group makes it back to the camp's shore of the lake as the sun starts to set, just around dinner time.

They'd spent the afternoon on the other side of the lake; hiking, playing games, doing awkward team-building exercises, just what you'd expect from a summer camp.

Hope had slipped away from the group, cursing herself for not bringing a book or something to distract herself for the afternoon.

She'd never liked group activities.

She rowed home with Josie, but neither of them spoke. Josie splits off with her friends again when they get back to camp, leaving Hope no time to ask the girl to hang out with her tonight.

The next time she sees Josie is in the dining hall, laughing at something stupid her friends must have done. Hope watches from her table in the corner. The way Josie's eyes light up when she smiles, the way her lips curl up angelically, she seems to glow. 

Hope finds her again when dinner is over, grabbing her arm and leading her behind the dining hall. Hope realizes it's already pretty dark, surely no one would notice they were gone.

"Are you okay?" Josie asks, glancing down to Hope's fingers that are still wrapped around her forearm. Hope immediately retracts her hand and feels her face flush.

"I just, uh..." she trails off. Josie looks behind her and Hope knows she's screwing things up. "I just had a lot of fun with you today. Canoeing, I mean."

Josie's eyes light up and Hope's stomach churns.

"You did?" Josie asks in a hopeful voice.

Hope curses herself. Josie lit up at that and all Hope can think about is that it's all a lie on her part. She wants to back out, but Penelope Park's cold stare appears in her head, and she continues. 

"Yeah," Hope says with a soft smile, one she thinks only the brunette girl could pull out of her. "I thought maybe you'd want to... hang out again. Maybe."

Josie smiles gently again. "I'd like that, Hope," she replies softly. Her voice travels straight to Hope's stomach and causes the butterflies in there to start to flutter.

"When were you thinking?"

"Right now," Hope sputters out a little too quickly, causing a concerned look to cover Josie's face.

"Now? It's kind of... dark."

"I know a spot," Hope replies. She's lying, of course, but she's hoping she hasn't used up enough of her dumb luck already. How did she even get the other girl to say yes?

She continues speaking, holding Josie's gaze the entire time. "Meet me here in twenty minutes."

Josie nods and opens her mouth to say something, but Hope has already made a run for it, racing to Penelope's cabin.

Hope makes it to Penelope's cabin in record time, seeing the girl sitting in an old lawn chair, holding something up to her lips and inhaling deeply.

"Penelope, what the hell are you doing?" Hope exclaims. "I'm meeting Josie at the dining hall in twenty minutes and you're getting high."

"I work best when I'm... inspired," Penelope replies. "Besides, I know exactly what I'm doing." She glares at Hope for a moment, successfully seeing right through her. "You don't, do you? You're scared out of your mind!"

"Fuck off, Park," she says, about to leave. Leave this whole stupid plan behind. 

"I _dated_ Josie, remember? I can help you." Hope turns back to Penelope. 

"If I recall," Hope growls. "That didn't turn out very well. If I want this to work why would I take advice from _you_?" 

Penelope smirks and glares right through Hope.

"Because I know what makes that girl _tick_." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW OKAY i wanted to write the hosie picnic in this chapter but it would have made it too long... also enjoy hope gay panic-ing but not even realizing it;)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a lot of people were concerned about josie so i thought i'd throw some fluff in here and update two days in a row to tide everyone over...

Against her better judgment, Hope takes Penelope's advice, and a couple of minutes later, she's standing behind the dining hall again, waiting for Josie to make an appearance. 

Hope shakes her leg nervously, holding a bag of sweets she stole from the kitchen in her sweaty hands. 

It's almost 10:00, Josie should be coming in a couple of minutes. What if she doesn't show? Hope doesn't think Josie would leave her hanging or lie to her, but isn't that exactly what she's doing?

She pushes the thought out of her mind as she sees the brunette girl rounding the corner. The sight of Josie makes Hope smile softly.

"Hi," Josie says quietly. Hope searches for something to say but her mind comes up blank. Josie has changed from her shorts and camp t-shirt into a sundress. It's blush pink and stops in the middle of her thighs, and Hope has to pull her eyes away from the girl's legs.

Hope curses herself. _Why didn't she wear a nicer outfit?_

Hope is restless. She plays with the ring on her pointer finger, twisting it on and off her finger, and repeatedly wipes her palms on her shorts.

"Are you okay?" Josie asks, noticing Hope's nervous tells. 

"Me?" Hope asks, eyes snapping to Josie's. "I'm fine!"

"You're nervous," Josie responds, reaching out to touch one of Hope's arms. Hope didn't realize how close they were standing. Josie's comforting touch does nothing but feel like fire on Hope's skin and she shrugs it off.

"Are you ready to go?" Hope changes the subject. Josie nods and follows Hope towards the woods.

"I've always liked it in here," Josie says after a while of walking. "Especially at night."

"Really?" Hope asks. Josie nods and continues walking, eyes focused on her feet. "I don't know, something about the woods freaks me out."

The girls stay silent and Hope searches in her mind for something Penelope had said about Josie. _The moon_. She likes the moon.

"I do like the moon, though," Hope adds quickly, and Josie's eyes shoot up to meet her gaze. 

"Really?" Josie asks excitedly. "Me too!"

"I know," Hope blurts out. "Well, I mean, I didn't know but I thought so. Or maybe you told me about it. A long time ago." Her words are sporadic and filled with nerves and Hope silently prays that the other girl won't notice. She does, of course.

"You're so... jumpy tonight," Josie adds. Her hand brushes Hope's, causing her to immediately pull her hand away. Josie keeps walking like nothing happened and laughs to herself. "Are you _scared_ to hang out with me?" 

Honestly, Hope is scared out of her wits. She feels like Josie can see right through her.

"Scared?" Hope says, a little too loud. "I'm not _scared_ , I just... want it to be special." She shakes her head as Josie smiles. "Not special, I mean- well _you're_ special but-"

"Hey," Josie responds, shutting Hope up. "Don't worry about it."

She's stopped both girls in the middle of the woods and Hope registers the minimal space that lingers between them. Hope takes a deep breath and Josie smiles softly.

"There you go," she responds and starts walking again. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Do you want me to be honest?"

Josie stops walking and looks back at Hope, who almost runs into her.

"I have no idea," she finishes, and Josie frowns. "I just knew I wanted to see you."

Josie sighs. "I know somewhere," she replies and makes a beeline out of the woods. Hope follows like a lost puppy. She thinks she'd probably do anything if Josie asked her to.

She ignores that thought.

\---

Josie brings them to a spot at the edge of the campgrounds that Hope has never seen before. There's a tiny pond and a swing, and Hope figures Josie probably spent time here when she was young.

Speaking of the girl, Hope can't stop staring at her. They've traveled far enough away from the center of camp that they can see the stars, and Hoe watches as Josie admires and appreciates every one of them. Her brows knit together like she's looking for something before she points a finger into the air. 

"Pegasus," she says, her voice sounding completely content.

Hope tilts her head up to the sky but sees nothing out of the ordinary, she glares back at Josie.

"Come here," she says, and takes Hope's arm, pulling her closer. She tilts Hope's chin to the left and points in Hope's line of sight.

"There," she says softly. "Those four stars make its' body."

"It's upside down," Hope says, which makes Josie frown. She immediately pulls both girls onto the ground and lies down on her back. Hope thinks this is strange but follows anyways. 

"The myth goes that pegasus dug a hole in the ground and made a spring. The water was so magical it gave anyone that drank it the ability to write beautiful poetry."

Josie continues facing the sky, talking about the silly constellation like it's worth millions of dollars. Hope keeps her eyes trained on Josie, watching her lips curl around her words and her eyes glisten in the pale light.

"I used to come here and sit right here," Josie continues, patting the ground next to her. "I would imagine that that pond was the very spring that the pegasus made."

"That's really..." Josie turns to face Hope, their noses only inches apart. "...sweet," Hope says.

Josie lets out a sad laugh. "Lizzie always said it was stupid."

"I thought we were done talking about her," Hope says, and sets herself up on her elbows. "Now come on. I didn't steal from the kitchen for nothing."

Hope pulls Josie up from off the ground and the latter smiles. Hope can see the glint of sadness that shines in Josie's eyes.

\---

The girls spend the next hour telling stories and Hope feels closer to Josie than she's ever felt to anyone else.

Hope learns that Josie sticks her tongue out when she's focused on things and that chocolate chip cookies are her favorite. Hope lets her eat all of them.

When midnight comes around, Josie starts to yawn and as much as Hope would love to spend the night in the woods, looking at the stars and stroking Josie's hair while she falls asleep in her lap, she knows they have to get back to camp.

Surely Penelope is done with whatever she's planned for Lizzie.

Josie leads bot girls through the woods and back to the dining hall where they part, and Hope can't get the image of Josie's eyes reflecting the stars out of her head. She makes her way to Penelope's cabin, a smitten look plastered on her face.

"Well, aren't you happy to see me?" Penelope teases when she opens her cabin door to Hope. "Someone has a little crush, don't they?"

"Shut up," Hope says, forcing herself to frown. 

"Well, did you do it?" Penelope asks urgently.

"Do what?"

"Ask her out, dumbass!" 

"Of course I didn't!" Hope exclaims. She instantly lowers her voice as to not wake Penelope's roommates. Hope pulls the girl outside.

"If I want this to be real I can't rush into things," Hope says once they're outside.

"But it isn't real," Penelope replies. "That's the point."

Hope looks at her feet. "I know."

"Do you? Don't go soft on me, Mikaelson. We have an agreement." 

Hope refuses to look at the other girl. She hates Penelope for coming up with this stupid plan, but she hates herself more for going along with it.

"You need to get Josie to fall for you. And fast," Penelope says finally. 

"Can't you prank Saltzman without me having to date her sister?"

"I can," Penelope replies, obviously annoyed at Hope. "But it won't be as fun! Once you've stolen Josie away from Lizzie, no one will want to stick with her."

Hope doesn't understand the logic, but she wouldn't tell Penelope that.

"Everyone knows that _Lizzie's_ friends are just there because they like Josie. What, you haven't figured it out yet? Lizzie Saltzman's a bitch-"

"Are we done?" Hope interrupts. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

If Hope is honest with herself, she feels guilty for saying rude things about Lizzie when all Josie does it advocate for her. She has to get on Lizzie's good side if she wants to get to Josie. 

"Whatever, Hope," Penelope says, brushing Hope off. Penelope turns to go back inside but Hope doesn't move.

"Don't look so guilty, Mikaelson," she says. 

"I'm hurting Josie," Hope chokes out, her voice small.

Penelope scoffs and cups Hope's chin in her hand, talking down to Hope like she's a child. "It's nothing she doesn't deserve," she says with a wink, dropping Hope's chin and disappearing to her cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope this made up for the last chapter... trust the process! hosie will get the ending they deserve:)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i really liked this chapter... it was super fun to write! its a lot longer than usual, but this is the length i would probably make chapters from now on;)

Hope wakes up the next morning feeling like shit.

She sits up and immediately falls back onto her bed. What did Penelope _mean_? What does Josie deserve?

Hope knows they had a messy breakup, but she didn't know they ended on such terrible terms that Penelope would wish bad things on the other girl. And by the stories Hope has heard, Penelope was the one that fucked Josie over. 

She heads to the tiny outhouse outside of her cabin, splashing water on her face with the tiny sink inside of it. The outhouse is cramped and smells terrible but at least she gets the whole thing to herself.

To be honest, having the cabin to herself isn't so bad. She hasn't seen any ghost activity yet, and she doesn't have a roommate keeping her up at night. She doesn't know anyone at the camp that she'd want to spend all of her time with anyway.

Well, except maybe Josie. 

Speaking of the girl, Hope immediately spots her when she shows up at the dining hall.

Josie's hair styled neatly into two braids on either side of her head, falling just past her shoulders and tied off with red ribbons. Hope wonders what it would be like to undo the braids and feel Josie's soft hair between her fingers. She shakes the thought from her head and forces herself to look away from the girl. 

Before she gets a chance to, though, Josie is skipping happily to where Hope is standing, a goofy smile forcing its' way onto Hope's face.

"Good morning!" Josie exclaims, and Hope has to hide how happy Josie's greeting makes her.

"What's got you so excited?" Hope teases, and Josie's face immediately falls.

"Did you already forget?" Josie asks, cocking her head. Hope doesn't respond. "We get to go out today!"

Hope _totally_ forgot. In their last year of camp, all of the senior campers get to leave the camp and go into town every Friday. 

"Right," Hope replies, and laughs nervously. She glances to her right and her gaze immediately meets Penelope's, who's nodding her head slightly. Hope quickly averts her gaze away from Penelope. She doesn't like the look that was on the girl's face at all.

"I thought maybe we could..." Josie trails off. "I don't know. Maybe it's stupid."

"No!" Hope blurts out. "Nothing you say is stupid, Jo."

Josie blushes, and Hope feels a pang of pride for being the one to bring that color to Josie's cheeks.

"Maybe we can spend the day together," Josie continues. "If you want..."

Does Hope really make Josie _that_ nervous that she can't even ask for them to spend the day together? Hope guesses that's probably what she's going for. 

Hope smiles softly. "I would love to."

Before Hope can continue, Alaric speaks up, and the attention of all the campers is directed towards the front of the dining hall.

"Seniors! The buses are waiting for you outside. Your counselors should have communicated with you and let you know of your groups. Have fun today and be safe!"

Hope looks back at Josie, confused. 

"Don't worry," Josie responds. "You can stay with me. I told Dad you could be in mine and-"

"Please don't tell me _she's_ hanging with us today," Hope hears a voice say. She turns around to see Lizzie, arms crossed, bruising still creeping up from her nose to her eyes. Hope smiles and chokes back a laugh.

"Lizzie," Josie says under her breath. "Can't you be civil for _one_ day?"

"Me?!" Lizzie exclaims. "She's the one that fucking-"

"It's okay, Jo," Hope chimes in, reaching out a hand and grabbing Josie's arm to calm her down. "I'm okay to be by myself today. It's really not a big deal."

"Sounds great!" Lizzie adds, a little too quick. Lizzie pulls on her sister's arm but Josie doesn't move. "Jo, Let's go!"

"No, Lizzie," Josie responds. "You go. I'll stick with Hope today."

Hope's eyes meet Lizzie's face which is seething with anger. Josie looks completely content and before the pair walk away, Hope shoots Lizzie the bitchiest smirk. she can muster.

\---

"I'm so sorry about her," Josie says when the two of them get on the bus. "I really don't know what's gotten into her."

"She hates me," Hope responds. "I'm used to it. I have been for years."

"I know but I-" Josie chooses her words carefully. "I just need her to like you. It's important to me."

"And why is that, Saltzman?" Hope teases. Josie nudges her playfully in the shoulder and giggles. Hope thinks she could probably die a happy woman after being able to pull a laugh like that out of Josie.

Hope has only now realized the proximity of the girls. Their thighs are touching, and hope can feel the soft skin of Josie's leg against her's. She hopes the bus ride into town takes forever.

\---

Penelope pulls Hope aside when they finally exit the bus. 

"What's going on here, Mikaelson?" she asks in a nasty tone.

"What is what?" Hope asks, pushing off Penelope's hand that was almost painfully gripping her arm. "I'm doing exactly what you're telling me to."

"You can't fucking _fall_ for her, Hope."

Hope's eyes widen.

"I'm not _falling_ for anyone, Penelope," Hope bites back. "I'm just doing all of this because _you_ told me to." 

"She's flirting with you and you're eating it up," Penelope shoots back. "This isn't the plan."

"Do you hear yourself, Park? You sound like a child. Deal with your shit with Lizzie like an adult and leave Josie out of it."

"Listen to yourself! You don't even know why you're defending her."

Hope tries not to let Penelope's words affect her but who is she kidding, she knows Penelope's right.

"I get it," Hope says, defeated. "I know what I'm supposed to be doing."

Penelope doesn't respond, just rolls her eyes and turns to walk away, leaving Hope standing alone beside the bus. She spots Josie arguing with her sister a few feet away and manages to catch Josie's eye. Josie says one last thing to her sister before walking over to Hope.

"I'll kill her, I swear," Josie says, letting out a deep sigh.

"Either that, or we can spend the day together and ignore her," Hope responds, trying her best to console the girl without letting herself care too much. If she's honest, she's already passed that threshold. 

"Sounds perfect," Josie says sweetly. She opens her mouth to say something but is interrupted by a myriad of voices behind her.

Rafael, Landon, Kaleb, and MG have sauntered to the two girls, Rafael's face red with anger. He speaks up.

"Jo, I don't know what the fuck is wrong with your sister today but she's being an absolute-"

MG elbows him in the ribs, cutting him off.

"She just needs space," he says, defending the girl. "Time alone, you know?"

"What, time alone with her _boyfriend_ ," Kaleb teases, and MG's face falls. 

"This isn't about that," MG says under his breath.

Hope feels overwhelmed. Honestly, she was looking forward to spending the day alone with Josie. She knows Penelope would kill her if she turned them away, though. This is the plan, right? Getting all of Lizzie's friends to hate her? Hope can't help but feel guilty, but Josie shakes her out of her thoughts.

"Hope and I were actually hoping on spending the day alone," Josie says. 

"No, Jo, that's okay!" Hope adds reluctantly. "The more the merrier!" 

Josie looks at her and smiles sadly, and she knows she screwed this up. She reaches a hand out and interlocks her fingers with Josie's, giving the girl's hand a reassuring squeeze. Josie glances down at their intertwined hands before looking back at Hope and smiling brightly.

"Weird," Kaleb says, ruining their moment. "Can we get going? I'm fucking starving."

"Me, too," Landon chimes in.

"Me, three," MG adds. "Do you know any good breakfast places around here, Jo?"

Josie doesn't respond right away, and Hope releases her hand to stop distracting the girl.

Josie shakes her head quickly, ridding herself of whatever she was thinking. "I know a great little diner a couple minutes away. Has the best pancakes in Virginia!"

\---

The group has finished eating, and they spend the next hour at the cramped table of the diner, laughing and telling stories and Hope is having a hard time focusing.

She keeps her eyes trained on the girl next to her, noticing the little dimple that appears on one of her cheeks when she laughs and how her hair still looks flawless, even in the Virginia summer heat.

Everything about the girl is flawless, actually. 

"We should get going," Josie says finally. "There's some historical presentation in town that my dad wants us to see."

"I thought today was supposed to be fun?" Raf mutters.

"Yeah, can't we skip?" Landon adds. "Tell your dad we got held up."

"Sounds good to me," Kaleb says, resting his head on the wall behind him.

Josie looks panicked. "I... Maybe we can-"

"I don't know," Hope says, trying to help the girl. "Virginia history has always seemed pretty interesting to me."

The boys stare at Hope, surprised.

"I've never even heard you talk," Kaleb scoffs. "And now you want to spend the day learning about old white guys? Figures." 

"Maybe Hope and I will go," Josie replies, a smile forming on her face. "We'll meet back up with you guys in a couple of hours for lunch?"

The boys look at each other and nod and Hope remains cool on the outside while internally freaking out. Honestly, she doesn't want to see some stupid history presentation. She _does_ want to spend time alone with Josie, though. 

"Sounds good to me," she replies, smiling. The two of them leave the booth and the diner, and Hope is able to focus on the girl next to her, ignoring whatever weird looks the boys are giving them from the window.

\---

To Hope's surprise, Josie doesn't drag her to a historical presentation. Instead, they stand in front of an old-looking building.

Josie has threaded their fingers together and although all Hope can focus on is the feeling of Josie's soft palm against her's, she still manages to examine the building in front of them.

"It's pretty," Hope blurts out. "Um... What is it?"

Josie doesn't respond, just squeezes Hope's hand and gives her a smirk before leading her inside. The building's walls are lined with shelves, piled high with canvases, art supplies, books, antiques, and more. Hope thinks it looks like something out of Harry Potter.

"I used to come here all the time with Lizzie. It's part bookstore, part art supplies store, part bakery, part... everything," Josie says looking around the space like she's never seen it before. "Lizzie used to say it was lame and old, but I thought it was-"

"Amazing," Hope blurts out. "This place has everything!"

"I know how much you used to love to paint and I thought maybe we could..." Josie trails off.

"You would paint with me?" Hope asks, and Josie nods in response. "I like where your head's at, Saltzman," Hope smirks, and the girls immediately go to town inside the tiny store.

They leave with two bags full of art supplies, and Josie has even picked out a book she found tucked on one of the shelves. 

"How many times did you say you've read this?" Hope asks while the girls walk out of the store. Hope holds both of the bags in one hand and Josie walks slightly ahead of her, holding her book in both hands like it's made of fine china. 

"Just a couple," Josie responds, half-listening to Hope and half-immersed in her book. "I used to bring it to camp every year until I lost it one day."

"I remember that! You were so upset."

Josie brings her book away from her face and turns to Hope. "You remember that? It was, like, six years ago. We didn't even talk."

Hope chews nervously on her bottom lip. "I've always paid attention to you, Jo."

Josie smiles and the girls make their way to the restaurant they were told to meet at for dinner.

MG, Kaleb, Landon, and Raf are already seated at a table, and Josie waves to them, but Hope can see the boys exchange whispers when she and Josie walk over.

"Have fun at the... historical presentation?" MG asks, eyeing the bags that Hope has hung on the back of her chair.

"We missed it," Josie lies. "Had the wrong time, I guess!"

MG glances at Kaleb who matches his suspicious look, but neither of them says anything.

Hope looks around the restaurant. Caroline and some other counselors are seated at a table in the corner and once Hope's gaze leaves them, she immediately meets Lizzie's eyes, who are staring daggers at Hope's table.

Hope stifles a grin. Penelope must be _elated_ right now. Lizzie is sitting with Sebastian and a bunch of campers Hope doesn't even recognize while Hope is sitting with Lizzie's sister and all of her friends. _Penelope's plan must be workin_ g, Hope thinks.

\---

They board the bus after dinner, when the sun has already gone down and they've spent hours in the restaurant.

Hope can't help but be grateful for this stupid plan that Penelope has concocted. Hope's never had friends before. She's never spent hours in a diner, sharing random stories and laughing and... having a good time. 

Hope and Josie sit next to each other on the way back to camp and when Josie's eyelids start drooping heavily, she rests her head on Hope's shoulder, the simple touch sending jolts of electricity through Hope's arm and straight to her chest. 

Josie settles closer to Hope and nuzzles her head in the crook of Hope's neck, and Hope spends the whole bus ride hyperfocused on the girl resting on her shoulder.

The bus ride seems shorter than it was earlier in the day.

"Jo," Hope says quietly, shaking the girl awake. "Josie."

"Hmm?" Josie says, stirring. She puts a hand against Hope's arm which causes the girl to lose focus for a moment. 

"We're here," Hope says softly. Josie raises her head from Hope's shoulder, hair looking a little disheveled. 

"Sorry!" Josie apologizes frantically. "I must have fallen asleep."

"No kidding," Hope says, laughing while they get up to leave the bus.

"I had a lot of fun today," Josie says while the girls walk towards their respective cabins.

"Me, too," Hope says, smiling. She pushes her guilty thoughts away and tries to stay in the moment, but she can't ignore the fact that she's leading Josie on. "I really did."

Josie stops walking and smiles and Hope realizes they've made it to the twins' cabin.

"Goodnight, Hope," Josie says simply before turning to enter her cabin. 

Hope watches her disappear inside before walking to her own cabin, the pang in her chest making her unable to ignore the fact that what she's doing is wrong.

Just as Hope makes her way inside her cabin and flops down on her bed, Penelope is bursting through the door. Her unannounced entrance makes Hope jump.

"Did you see her face?!" Penelope exclaims, her laugh almost sounding like a howl. Hope rolls her eyes. "She was fucking _pissed_!"

Hope still doesn't respond.

"What," Penelope groans. "Don't tell me you feel bad."

"I don't think I can do this, Penelope," Hope utters finally. 

Penelope gives Hope the nastiest look she's ever received. "You _what_?"

Hope holds up her mask of confidence while on the inside she's freaking out.

"I don't want to hurt her," she replies. "Josie, I mean."

"For fuck's sake, Mikaelson, you have no idea who that girl _really_ is, huh?"

Hope doesn't want to listen. Surely, she can't trust anything that comes out of Penelope's mouth. Especially if it's about Josie.

"I don't need to know," Hope bites back. "I know Josie."

"Whatever," Penelope scoffs. "Don't fuck this up, alright, Hope?"

Hope opens her mouth to talk but before she can say anything, Penelope turns to leave, just as the door opens and both girls freeze, seeing Josie in the doorway.

"Hm," Penelope smirks. "Speak of the devil. Bye, _Hope_." She says Hope's name like she's muttering a nasty secret, and Hope can see the concern plastered on Josie's face.

"Wh-Why was she here?" Josie asks, obviously hurt.

"It's not like that, Jo," Hope says, trying to calm the girl down. "She was asking about..." 

_Think, Hope._

_"_ You know what," Josie begins, and Hope prepares herself to have to beg the girl to believe her, but Josie continues talking. "I really don't care."

Josie sits down on the chair across from Hope's bed.

"Are you okay?"

Josie sighs. "Lizzie got all pissed. Said something about you sabotaging her friendships, I don't know. But I didn't want to stay there tonight." Josie makes intense eye contact with Hope, her eyes glassy. "Do you think I can..."

Josie trails off.

"Nevermind," she continues, getting up from the chair. "It's stupid."

"Josie." Hope reaches out and grabs Josie's arm, stopping the girl from leaving. "tell me what's wrong."

Josie looks at Hope's hand grasping her arm and back into Hope's eyes. 

"I just... Don't want to see her tonight."

"You want to stay here?" Hope asks, and Josie nods sadly. Hope notices how small Josie looks, how tiny her arm looks in Hope's hand. Hope slides her hand down to Josie's and intertwines their fingers, the butterflies in her stomach rising into her throat. 

"You can stay here, Jo," Hope replies. "You can stay as long as you want. Do you need anything from your cabin?"

Josie shakes her head, pulling her toothbrush from her back pocket. "Just some toothpaste."

Both girls laugh and Hope lets Josie have time to herself in the outhouse while she makes herself a pallet on the floor to sleep on.

Josie comes back into the cabin and looks between Hope and the crude bed that sits on the floor.

"I'm not making you sleep on the floor, Hope," she says. 

"Really, it's fine," Hope responds. "It's not a big deal."

"It's your room, Hope. You can take the bed."

Hope speaks before she can even think about what she's going to say. "It's bigger than the beds in the other cabins since the room's a single. We can... share it if you want."

Josie's eyes grow wide.

"Not if you _want_ but if you're okay, like, if you're comfortable-"

"It's okay, Hope," Josie says, giggling. "We can share it."

Hope steps into the tiny walk-in closet to change and by the time she comes back, Josie is in bed, the covers up to her chin.

Hope slips into bed beside her, careful not to move too close to Josie. She hears Josie breathing beside her, long, comfortable sighs as she settles into bed.

"Goodnight, Hope," Josie says quietly, her voice thick with sleep.

"Goodnight, Jo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyy i hope you liked this! let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is much short than the last, but it made sense to shorten it because of the next couple chapters. this is also pretty angsty... sorry in advance.

Hope wakes up to a slight pressure on her chest, and she tenses when she sees Josie's head rested there, her brown locks covering Hope.

Josie stirs in her sleep and sighs, making Hope blush. She tries to ignore the blood rushing to her cheeks, but to no avail.

"Jo," Hope whispers, shaking her shoulder in an attempt to wake the girl up. "Josie, we have to go to breakfast."

Josie stirs some more before waking up, blushing when she notices she was sleeping on Hope.

"I'm sorry," Josie says frantically. "How long have you been up?"

"Not long," Hope replies, smiling, before reaching out and brushing a strand of hair away from Josie's mouth. She regrets it, thinking maybe it's too much, until Josie starts to blush and Hope doesn't regret her small, cutesy action anymore.

"We should get going," Josie says, sighing and sitting up. "Lizzie's gonna be pissed when she finds out I..." she trails off.

"Stop thinking about what Lizzie's gonna think," Hope replies. "I'm sure she doesn't approve of anyone you spend time with if it's not her. I mean, how approving was she when you were with Penelope?"

The question obviously makes Josie uncomfortable, and Hope curses herself for bringing up Josie's ex. 

"I..." Josie begins, clearly trying to think of an answer.

"You don't have to answer that," Hope begins. "I'm sorry I brought it up. _Her_ up."

"No, no it's fine," Josie says, scooting further from Hope on the bed. "It was a long time ago."

Hope doesn't know how to answer.

"What's going on between you and her anyway?" Josie asks, staring at her hands that rest in her lap.

"You mean Park and I?" Josie nods, still not meeting Hope's eyes. "Nothing. I mean, we're hanging out more, I guess, but nothing serious."

Josie looks at her suspiciously.

Hope impulsively reaches out and grabs Josie's hand, linking their fingers together. "You have nothing to worry about," she says reassuringly, and Josie's gaze finally meets hers. Josie smiles sadly.

"I should go," Josie says, letting go of Hope's hands and climbing out of bed, leaving the cabin before Hope can say anything else.

\---

The dining hall is bustling once again, and once Hope walks in, she can immediately feel eyes on her. From one direction, Lizzie is staring her down, a white-knuckled grip on her fork that Hope can see, even from a distance. From another direction, she sees Penelope, her brows knitted together, eyes shooting between Hope and Josie, who sits at the table with her sister.

Penelope mouths a "what happened?" in Hope's direction but Hope ignores it, choosing to get on the breakfast line instead of paying attention to either of the girls.

Hope grabs a tray and a plate of breakfast and sits by herself at a table in the corner, opening a book and reading silently while she finishes her breakfast.

Not soon after, though, Penelope Park sits down at the table and disrupts the comfortable loneliness that has settled at her table.

"Leave me alone, Park," Hope says, not glancing up from her book.

Penelope sits at the table, without talking, which pushes Hope's buttons like nothing else, so she's forced to put her book down and meet the smirking face in front of her.

"Did you fuck her?" is the first thing Penelope says.

Hope rolls her eyes. "Not even a good morning? A hello? A 'you know what Hope, I know you're doing something really shitty, and I'm sorry for coercing you into it.'"

Penelope's smirk falls into a frown and her eyebrows knit together. "Nope. And I didn't _coerce_ you into anything. You wanted to do it."

Hope doesn't respond for a while, before swallowing the lump in her throat and speaking up. "I didn't _fuck_ her. I didn't want to."

"Whatever, Mikaelson," Penelope groans. "I've seen the way you look at her." She must think this is so funny to Hope, but Hope doesn't respond. "Loosen up, won't you? After this summer, you won't have to see the Saltzman twins ever again. You'll be better off."

"Why are you even doing this?! To Josie? To _Lizzie_ , even? What shit did you pull on her the other night? You claimed to have such a great plan but I didn't hear anything about it."

"I've got Lizzie covered," Penelope growls. "How about you focus on one twin before you try to worry about both."

"Leave me alone," Hope says coldly, opening her book once again. "If you won't want me to ask questions, deal with Josie yourself."

Penelope places a hand on top of Hope's book and pushes it down to the table, forcing Hope to meet her eyes once again.

"Josie doesn't _want_ me. She never fucking _did_. I need you to take her out again tonight."

_What the hell is that supposed to mean?_

_"_ Penelope, how many times do I have to say-" Hope's gaze has left the girl across from her and before she can finish talking, Penelope has vanished from the table, leaving hope alone.

Hope glances across the room, looking for Penelope but instead, meets Josie's eyes, who is wistfully staring back at Hope. She quickly averts her eyes once she makes eye contact with Hope.

_God, she is so screwed._

\---

It's said that when you shiver, it's someone stepping over the place of your future burial site. Hope very much believes the same thing happens when Lizzie Saltzman enters a room. 

It had been a quiet afternoon. Caroline and Alaric had a few activities planned in the morning but after the seniors' outing yesterday, the counselors figured they could all use a day off, so Hope spent most of the day alone, sprawled in a hammock between two trees in the secret place Josie brought her to the other night.

It was peaceful, but Hope was secretly wishing that Josie would show up unannounced and she and Hope could spend the day talking.

Around noon, Hope hears footsteps getting closer to her, and just when she opens her eyes, expecting to see a familiar brunette girl, a sudden shudder runs down her spine, and she knows she's got the wrong twin.

Hope swings her legs out of the hammock, stands up, and is face to face with Lizzie Saltzman; an annoyed smirk already plastered onto her face.

"Saltzman," Hope says simply.

"Mikaelson," Lizzie replies, nodding her head. "What are you doing here?"

Hope stops herself before telling the girl Josie brought her here, knowing Lizzie wouldn't like it if she knew Hope and Josie had been hanging out somewhere so private.

"I found it a while ago," Hope says nonchalantly. "I suppose you did, too?"

"Cut the shit, Hope," Lizzie snaps. "I know my sister brought you here."

"Then why'd you ask, Lizzie? What do you want?"

"I wanna know what you're doing canoodling with Penelope Park," Lizzie says sternly.

"I'm not c-" Hope stops herself. _Don't stoop to her level_. "Nothing's going on between me and Park."

"That's not what my _sister_ tells me."

Hope hates the way Lizzie is so... _possessive_ of Josie. She so badly wants to scream out at Lizzie, put her in her place or something. She knows Lizzie isn't confronting Hope out of the goodness of her heart, or out of the love she has for her sister. She's doing it for the same reason that she's hated Hope for the entirety of them knowing each other.

"Oh, so the one time you decide to listen to your sister it's because you want answers?"

"Don't tell me what I do and don't do for my sister. You wouldn't know one thing about doing something for someone else," Lizzie bites.

"Oh, and you do?!" Hope exclaims, almost wanting to laugh from the irony. "Seems like a great example of the pot calling the kettle black, Saltzman!"

"Don't ' _Saltzman_ ' me," Lizzie growls, inching closer to Hope.

"Aw, are you gonna hit me?" Hope teases as Lizzie gets closer to her. "I fucked up one of your eyes, I can do the same to the other."

"Hey!"

Lizzie opens her mouth to say something but is interrupted. Both girls whip their heads towards the sound to see Josie, out of breath, seething. Hope registers the short length of the girls' shorts before she even notices the extreme anger on her face.

Hope swallows thickly.

"Lizzie," Josie says through gritted teeth. "Leave her alone."

"You're defending her-"

"LIZZIE!"

Hope doesn't think she's ever heard a voice like that come out of Josie's mouth. 

Lizzie huffs and shoots Hope a dirty look before stomping away, and Josie waits until Lizzie's out of earshot to start reprimanding Hope.

"I don't know what the issue is between you two, but you have to stop."

"I-"

"No. I'm talking. I- I'm sick of people always talking over me, telling me what to do." Josie sighs, the anger on her face contorting into distress. "Look, Hope, I... feel something for you. I don't know what it is and it probably isn't right but I _love_ Lizzie. And no matter how difficult you may think she is, she's my sister. And I won't let something or _someone_ come between us."

"She's terrible, Jo," Hope says quickly. "All she does is push you around and I... I can't watch it happen anymore."

"No, Hope. I'm sorry, I know you've had a shitty go of it but you've never had someone like Lizzie. A sister, a..." she thinks of what to say next, "a best friend."

Hope scoffs.

"Do you want me, Hope?" Josie's tone is matter-of-fact and direct, and Hope can't help but feel scared of the girl she's felt so comfortable with for the past couple of days. "Do you want... whatever this is to work?"

Hope nods, not immediately comprehending Josie's words. 

"Then I need you to work with her. With me."

Josie has stepped closer to Hope, and Hope didn't realize how close the two of them were. Hope can see the blush rising onto Josie's cheeks and smell her shampoo. She wants to close her eyes and take a deep breath, committing the scent of Josie to her memory, but she stays still, her jaw clenching absent-mindedly.

"Are you gonna say something?"

Before Hope can conjure up an intelligent thought, she leans forward, crushing her mouth to Josie's, melting into the feeling of the girls' pouty lips.

In Hope's mind, this moment has always gone off without a hitch. She's never admitted it to herself, but she's dreamt of kissing Josie for years. None of the scenarios in Hope's head included Josie pushing her off, disconnecting their lips almost as abruptly as Hope connected them.

"You don't get to do that, Hope," Josie utters, her words like knives in Hope's chest. "Come back to me when you have an answer." 

The amount of time Hope has to watch Josie disappear from view is painful, and a million things she could have said go through her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you liked this chapter! what would you think if i switched povs for a chapter or two? is it too late? lmk what you think... i’d like to explore some of the other girls’ povs


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> josie's pov:)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! i've had such terrible writer's block for this story so i decided to switch pov's for at least a chapter and it was super fun to write! i hope you like it!

Something feels like it's come undone in Josie's chest. Like kissing hope unlocked something. And as much as she'd like to say she'd wished she hadn't put a stop to it, she knows she did the right thing.

Well, she _hopes_ she did the right thing. 

\---

Lizzie hadn't lied when she said she wasn't gonna be in the room much this summer. Most mornings, Josie wakes up alone, Lizzie having already left for the dining hall without her or spending the night at Sebastian's, which was totally against Dad's rules.

Josie thinks about the night she spent in Hope's bed; how comfortable she felt. The feeling of Hope's warmth in bed with her made her feel less... lonely. She felt safe there.

This morning is no different. Though, Josie's rather grateful that her sister isn't there. She doesn't really wanna face her after what happened last night.

How is she supposed to face _anyone_ now? She can't talk to her own sister, and who knows if Hope will even want to see her after last night.

Even though Josie's empty cabin made her feel unwanted, the bustling of the dining hall didn't help to ease the ache that has seemed to flood throughout her. She could just turn and leave. Fake being sick or something so she didn't have to see anybody today.

Josie attempts to slip out of the dining hall doors but to no avail. Someone has locked the doors and she hears the terrible ring of feedback fill the room as her father and mother step onto the stage, her dad struggling with the mic and causing a bunch of the younger kids to freak out.

Josie groans and finds a seat in the back at an empty table.

"Good morning!" her father says through the mic, the smile on his face seeming genuine and excited. In all honesty, she loves seeing him like this. He put everything into this camp.

"I hope you're all excited for our annual Salvatore Camp Field Day!" he exclaims, causing the room to erupt into cheer.

Josie totally forgot. Every year at camp they have a field day- well, more of a field week. The seniors are assigned a partner and a group of campers and everyone competes by age group. The winners get bragging rights for the rest of the summer, which usually turned out to be Lizzie and her group. 

Josie never bought into it. Sports weren't her thing and besides, if she won over Lizzie it'd be a travesty.

Her mother takes over the mic. "Seniors, I will be coming around shortly to give you your assigned partners and groups! Everyone else, your team captains will meet with you later today!"

The younger kids cheer once again and Josie looks around at the rest of the kids her age. Most of them couldn't be less thrilled, but her sister sits dead center in front of the stage, certainly coming up with a plan for her team to win.

"I trust you'll all be civil this week," her mother continues. "And most of all... have fun!"

The counselors escort the younger grades out and the seniors stay in the dining hall. Josie scans the room; Lizzie sits with Sebastian, MG, Kaleb, Landon, and Raf. They're laughing at something and don't seem to be noticing she's not even there. 

Penelope sits with her group of friends in the back corner, most of them scoffing, annoyed at the week's events just as much as she is. Penelope and her friends were never particularly motivated to do anything that didn't involve smoking.

Josie's eyes scan around the room once again, catching a glimpse of red hair at a table near her. She does a double-take, stealing another look at Hope before averting her eyes to her lap. _Anything_ to distract herself. 

Hope looks just as miserable as Josie is.

"Hiya, hon!" Josie hears someone say near her, which makes her jump. Her mother stands over her, one hand holding a t-shirt and the other, a clipboard. "You're jumpy today."

"Just tired, I guess," Josie replies with a sigh. She takes the t-shirt from her mom and a piece of paper, which lists all the kids she'll be in charge of this week.

"You'll be partnered up with-" she runs a finger down her clipboard, looking over her list- "Hope!"

Josie's blood goes cold. 

"There must be a mistake!" Josie says frantically, yanking the clipboard out of her mom's hands. There's her name, printed neatly right next to Hope's.

"I know there's some hard feelings after what happened to your sister..." Caroline trails off. "But you guys are adults now! Lizzie's said you too have been getting along quite well."'

_Of_ course _she did._

"Lizzie said that?" Her mother nods and smiles before leaving, not giving Josie the chance to say another word. 

Josie slumps down in her chair, head in her hands, running over every possible scenario in her brain of how this week could end.

Either things are awkward, and Hope and Josie have a terrible time, or they get along well.

Josie doesn't know which one she's more afraid of.

She could drop out or something. Surely, her father wouldn't make her do field day at all if she complained enough.

But what if things went well? Maybe she and Hope could just start over, get an understanding of one another, maybe becoming friends. But if Hope tries to kiss her again...

Josie doesn't know if she has the willpower to say no again.

Against her better judgment, Josie et's her eyes wander to where she'd seen Hope sitting earlier. Hope sits in her chair, arms crossed over her chest, talking to- no, being _interrogated_ by Lizzie. 

Something red-hot inside of Josie makes her march over to the table.

"...you two have just been having so much _fun_ together," she hears her sister say.

"Lizzie," she says. Her sister ignores her, continuing her conversation. "Lizzie!"

"Can't you see I'm talking, _Josette_? Your good friend Hope here was just having doubts about this week. I'm just reassuring her, is all."

Lizzie flashes a nasty, self-satisfied grin at Josie, which sends her over the edge. Josie can feel her face run red and she squeezes her hands into tight fists.

"How many times do I have to say it Lizzie leave her the _fuck_ alone!!" Josie yells, loud enough that it makes some of the other kids turn in the direction of the three girls. 

Lizzie's smug face falters and Josie sees Hope's mouth fall open.

"Go." Josie's voice is stern and unwavering. 

"Jo, I-" Lizzie starts to speak but Josie shoots her a look, shutting her up. Her sister leaves, along with the other kids that have been lingering in the dining hall, leaving Josie alone with Hope at the table.

"What was that," Hope asks, her voice sounding small. Josie wants to scream at her, too, but the ache-y feeling in her chest from earlier returns, causing her to stay quiet.

"We have to meet up with our group later," Josie says simply. "I'll see you then."

With that, she turns, hot tears stinging her eyes while she leaves the building.

\---

Josie feels like if the wrong person crossed her path at this moment, she might just get kicked out of camp.

the walk back to her cabin from the dining hall seems longer than usual, and the tears that sneak out of her eyes don't help. The field day t-shirt her mom gave her is wet with snot and tears and Josie knows she'll regret crying into it later.

When she makes it back to her cabin, Josie's grateful to see that Lizzie isn't there. She doesn't know how she'd react if she saw Lizzie at the moment.

Josie's tears fall without restraint the moment she closes the door. She slumps against the rough wood, letting herself fall to the floor, covering her eyes with her hands.

It feels like hours have passed when Josie stops crying. She's left with a terrible headache, but she can't find the strength to get up to get water. She just curls up in her bed, her body still feeling the effects of her sobs.

Her recovery is short-lived when someone knocks on the door, forcing her to sit up which only ebbs her headache on more.

"Jo?" a muffled voice calls from the other side of the door. She can't quite make out who it is. "Please, can I come in?"

If it's Lizzie, Josie doesn't want to see her. If it's her mother, she'd rather skip the incoming lecture. Reluctantly, Josie stands up slowly and opens the door.

Josie's not surprised to see Hope on the other side of the door.

Everything in Josie tells her to shut the door, she doesn't need this right now. But when it comes to Hope, Josie seems to ignore the warning that her body gives her. Instead, she opens the door wider and allows Hope to enter the cabin.

"I like what you've done with the place," Hope says casually, running her fingers across the decorations that Josie and her sister have hung on the wall.

"Thanks," Josie replies coldly. She falls back onto her bed while Hope stands on the other side of the room, leaving against the door.

The silence that settles between the two girls is uncomfortable, and Josie wishes Hope would say something or just leave.

"I like this," Hope says after a while, pointing to a picture on Josie's bookshelf of her and Lizzie. "You guys look happy."

"Did you come here to admire the wall decor?" Josie asks firmly.

Hope sighs. "No," she says bitterly, then drops her voice when she speaks again. "I just don't know how to talk to you."

Josie freezes at the words. _Hope_ doesn't know how to talk to _her_?? 

"I told your dad he could find you a new partner," Hope says finally, eyes averting to the floor.

"What?" Josie blurts out, surprised by Hope's request.

"I just... I can't be around you, Jo," Hope replies. She intertwines her fingers and hides them behind her back, closing herself off. 

"So this is my fault?"

Hope's eyes widen. "No! No, Josie, this isn't your fault. If anything it's the furthest thing from it."

_What is Hope hiding from her?_

"Th-Then I'll tell him it's fine." Josie stands up from her bed, facing the other girl. "It's just a week, Hope. If I can- if we can put aside whatever we... feel... for a week, it'll be fine."

Josie feels like she's preaching to herself rather than to Hope.

"Okay," is all Hope says. Nothing in her tone or face indicates any second thoughts; she's so... nonchalant. "I'll see you later."

Josie doesn't even get a chance to say goodbye, Hope leaves the cabin that quick.

Josie falls back onto her bed, facing the ceiling. _It's going to be a long week._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pleas elmk if you liked josie's pov... i'd love to keep writing from her perspective or even lizzie or penelope;)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> josie's pov once again!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well hello! i'm sorry it's been so long... i was caught up with finals and homework and didn't have a lot of motivation to write. but I'm back and hopefully gotten rid of my writer's block:) this chapter is pretty angsty so pls beware and let me know what you think!

At sometime after Hope's visit, Josie falls asleep; she wakes up to loud, frantic knocks on her door and finds she's plagued with a _pounding_ headache. 

She gets up to answer the door, immediately feeling groggy and dehydrated from crying.

When she sees Lizzie standing at her doorstep, the fogginess she feels fades away and she immediately feels anger rise up in her chest.

Lizzie looks nervous. She can't quite look Josie in the eye and she's fiddling with her fingers. 

"Hey, Jo," Lizzie says, her voice sounding small, like if she says the wrong thing, Josie might lose it. She's right. "Mom just sent me over here to tell you you have to meet with your field day group in a couple of minutes. We had a meeting and she got worried when you weren't there."

"I just needed a break," Josie replies, coldly. She pushes past Lizzie, moving to look at her blotchy, red face in the bathroom mirror. 

"You know this is your cabin, too right?" Josie continues, not looking towards her sister. "You don't have to knock to come in."

"I didn't think you wanted to see me," Lizzie replies, and Josie shoots her a look through the mirror. "I guess I was right."

"I don't... _not_ want to see you, Lizzie," Josie sighs, turning towards her twin. "I just..." she trails off. "I wish you would stay out of my business is all," she says finally. "It was shitty of you to say that stuff about Hope and I to Mom. Why do you feel the need to get in the way anyway?"

Lizzie looks shocked. "In the way?"

"Yes, Lizzie! You getting involved makes everything more complicated than it needs to be."

Lizzie opens her mouth to talk but immediately closes it. 

"Of course you have nothing to say," Josie mutters under her breath, but loud enough so her sister can hear her. "Now I have to worry about what you think about Hope and why she's been hanging around _Penelope_ and-" Josie cuts herself off with a deep sigh, bringing a hand to her head. She's forgotten all about her pounding headache through her anger, but that doesn't mean it's gotten any better.

"She and Park have been getting pretty close," Lizzie says, crossing her arms over her chest. Josie can't ignore the tinge of jealousy that curls at the edges of Lizzie's voice.

"I should get to my group," Josie says finally, smoothing her hair out once again in the mirror and slipping on a pair of sneakers. "I'll see you later, Lizzie."

Josie turns away from Lizzie, slams the door a little bit too aggressively, and leaves her sister alone in their cabin.

\---

Hope wears an apologetic face when Josie enters her line of sight, and Josie can tell the group of younger campers that sit in front of them have noticed the look of distress on Hope's face.

"Hey, guys!" Josie says, ignoring Hope and immediately turning on the charm. "Are you guys ready for field day?!"

The kids cheer and one of Josie's favorite younger campers, a little curly-haired boy named Pedro, jumps up to give her a hug, his arms wrapping around her legs rather than her waist. Josie hugs him back, grateful for the innocent gesture after the day she's had.

"You think we're gonna win this year, Jo?" another camper asks.

"Well, we won't be winning anything if we don't get started!" Josie replies, the cheer in her voice obviously rehearsed. She hopes the kids don't notice. "But first we have to go over some rules."

Josie reads some ground rules off of the clipboard that Hope was holding, and she has to ignore the longing looks that the other girl gives her.

"It's almost time for you guys to have dinner, but we'll see you all bright and early tomorrow!" Josie exclaims and shoos her group of kids off towards the dining hall. Once their kids are out of view, she immediately drops her phony smile and turns towards Hope. 

Right away, Hope averts her eyes to her hands; she must have been staring at Josie before she turned around.

"You're good with those kids, huh?" Hope says awkwardly. "They like you."

"My counselors always made things extra special for me," Josie replies. "I want to do the same for them, I guess."

"Cute," Hope says simply, which sends blood straight to Josie's cheeks. At first, Hope's comment makes Josie's chest feel warm, but then it reminds her of her anger. Why does Hope get to say stuff like that and then ignore her the rest of the time?! 

Josie wants to say something until Hope speaks up again. "Are you going to the bonfire tonight?"

"There's a bonfire?" Josie asks. Surely, Lizzie would have told her of such a thing. She guesses they're not really speaking at the moment.

"Penelope and Jed Park are throwing it. Somewhere in the woods to kick off field day."

It must have slipped Josie's mind. "Maybe I'll go," she says, wanting nothing more than to end their conversation.

"Maybe we can go together?" Hope insisted. Josie turned to look closer at Hope, who wore a hopeful look on her face. "I thought maybe it'd be fun."

The back and forth between the two of them is starting to mess with Josie's head. She wants to blame Hope and say it's all her fault, that she's messing with Josie's feelings, but if she's honest with herself, Josie isn't necessarily 100% innocent in all this either. Earlier today she was mad at Hope for wanting to switch field day groups and now she's mad that Hope wants to spend time with her?

No, Josie thinks to herself. She has the right to be frustrated with Hope. Not even a couple of nights ago she was kissing Josie, unable to even talk to her and now she's acting nonchalant about the whole situation. 

"Sure," Josie finally says. "I'll go with you."

\---

Hope had been waiting outside of the dining hall after dinner, hands clasped behind her back nervously, when Josie met up with her.

"You ready to go?" Hope asks, her face lighting up when Josie reaches her. 

Josie nods at her and smiles. Although Josie had been frustrated with Hope all day, she can't ignore the fact that whenever she sees the other girl, something in her chest swells up and she can't help but start blushing.

\---

Josie can smell the fire before she sees it. Jed Park is infamous for building the biggest bonfires Josie has ever seen. They have to be at least ten feet tall and at the end of the night when it's all burnt out, all the senior boys take turns jumping over it. 

Josie always thought it was stupid. And dangerous. And a waste of trees.

Hope and Josie show up to the party later than everyone else, mostly to try and avoid any unwanted attention from Penelope or Lizzie. Unfortunately, when they arrive, Josie's friends are already obnoxiously drunk, to the point where they've forgotten social cues.

"Heyyy Joooo," MG slurs when he reaches the pair. "I've been looooking for you."

"I'm sure you have," Josie says, faking a smile. She accepts a hug from MG but pushes him off harder than she had meant to. She hates how much he reeks of alcohol. 

"And Hope!" MG exclaims, letting a limp arm flop on Hope's shoulder. "You twooo need a drink."

"Why don't you help us out," Hope suggests, shoving MG's hand off of her shoulder, and MG walks away to get the girls drinks, tripping over his feet on the way there.

"I'm not drinking whatever he had," Josie mutters, which coaxes a giggle out of Hope.

Josie notices how Hope always closes up around big groups of people. She keeps her arms crossed protectively over her chest and stands a little too close to Josie when they pass through a particularly crowded area. 

Against her better judgment, she curls her own hand around Hope's waiting for the girl to respond by intertwining their fingers. Without looking back to see Hope's reaction, she leads them to where all her friends are standing.

Josie drops Hope's hand before anybody is able to register that they were touching and glances at Hope, who averts her eyes to her hands, apparently feeling the same loss as Josie.

"Here you are," MG says, appearing with his hands full of red cups. He hands one to Hope and then Josie, clinking his cup against Josie's own before downing its contents quickly. Josie sniffs the liquid in her cup and reminds herself why she never drinks.

After a quick scan of the area, Josie realizes Lizzie is nowhere to be found. Josie figures maybe she's not in the best mood to be partying right now, but Lizzie never misses a party. Especially a camp party. Maybe she's off with Sebastian, Josie thinks, and then cringes to herself.

"Hey, Mikaelson," a voice says, pulling Josie out of her thoughts. Josie's head whips around to see a certain raven-haired girl beckoning Hope towards her.

Josie immediately forces her gaze towards the floor, not wanting to see the smirk that has certainly spread across Penelope's face at seeing Josie all flustered. 

"What does she want," Josie asks quietly, looking at Hope through the sides of her eyes.

"I don't know," the other girl says and averts her eyes from Penelope's glare. When Josie looks back at her ex-girlfriend, she sees a mask of hatred has fallen over her face. 

Something is going on between Penelope Park and Hope Mikaelson that has gotten under Penelope's skin. And Josie is determined to get to the bottom of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i hope you enjoyed this chapter! since i'm on break from school the next chapter should be coming out super soon! thank you so much for reading:)


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hope's pov

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is quite the rollercoaster i apologize PLEASE DONT BE MAD

Hope thinks she's probably the only sober person at the bonfire. Josie included. After Hope ignored Penelope, Josie started downing drinks like crazy.

"Hey, hey, Jo," Hope says, taking the cup out of Josie's hands when she starts dunking it into the punch bowl for the third time. "Why don't we slow down, huh?"

Josie rips the cup out of Hope's grasp aggressively, which takes Hope by surprise. She knows Josie had been frustrated all day but she didn't think Josie was genuinely mad at her.

"It's a party, Hope," Josie says, her tone unwavering. "Loosen up." She turns away quickly and walks straight into a crowd of people, disappearing from Hope's sight.

\---

"Have you seen Josie?" Hope asks no one in particular. Her palms feel sweaty and her heart beats faster than it should. Hope doesn't like parties in the first place, and she definitely doesn't like them when they're overcrowded and she's lost the one person she feels comfortable with.

She hasn't Josie in a while. It could have been five minutes, maybe thirty, but it feels like three hours to Hope. She's been searching and asking but it seems like no one has seen her. Like Josie's actively avoiding her. 

After what seems like an eternity later, Hope spots the other girl, standing across from some guys Hope has seen only a handful of times around camp, twirling her brown locks between her fingers and leaning closer to the boy, holding a cup of something in her other hand, dangerously close to spilling it. The boy has an arm wrapped around Josie's waist, his hand ghosting above her ass.

Hope gets a sudden urge to protect. Like she should march right up to the boy and drag cuss him out for even laying an eye on Josie.

She has to remind herself that Josie is not _her's_. She hasn't done anything to make Josie trust her or let her know how she feels about her. All she's doing is making the situation confusing. Pushing Josie away and letting her back in just to screw it all up again.

Hope's thoughts cloud her mind and suddenly, she's standing in front of Josie, the boy across from her eyeing her weirdly, and Josie muttering something under her breath that Hope can't hear.

"Hope," Josie hisses. "What are you doing?"

"Is she drunk?" the boy asks, dropping his hand off of Josie's body after seeing the way Hope was staring daggers into it. "Why does she look like that?"

"I'm not drunk," Hope replies through gritted teeth, not turning to look at the boy. She maintains eye contact with Josie. "Josie we need to go."

"I'm not going anywhere with you, Hope," Josie says. Her voice is firm, not slurred or unwavering from the alcohol; She stands her ground. In any other instance, hope would probably be proud of the other girl for standing up for herself. But not when all of Josie's anger is being aimed at Hope.

"Josie, you-"

"What's going on _here_?" Hope hears a voice say behind her, and she knows by the cocky and bold tone of the voice immediately that it's Penelope.

Hope turns and immediately sees her; raven hair, hands crossed over her chest, a smirk plastered onto her face.

"Penelope..." Hope trails off, knowing that Penelope Park and alcohol and conflict makes for a terrible combination.'

"What? Are you scared Josie might find out about our little _agreement_?" 

Hope's body turns ice cold, but her cheeks burn with an intensity that is too high to ignore. 

"What is she talking about?" Josie asks, immediately sobering up. She steps towards Hope, expecting an answer, but Hope can't look her in the eye.

It feels like Hope is spinning, and she has to remind herself she's outside and close her eyes to ground herself. She feels eyes all over her, sure that the situation and her reaction has caused others to look in their direction. She opens her eyes and is faced with Josie, who looks like she might cry, and Penelope, who's eyes are sparkling at the opportunity to ruin Hope's life. 

"Do you wanna tell her, Hope? Or should I?" Penelope asks, her voice practically dripping with poison. 

"Tell me what, Hope?" Josie asks, nearly begging. "Please tell me she's lying. You're not hiding something."

Hope tries to scream, but nothing comes out. Her mouth feels like it's filled with cotton and anytime she tries to get a word out, it gets caught and disappears in her throat. 

"I..."

"What, Hope?" Josie asks again, sounding like she's going to cry. 

Hope must be drunk. She doesn't remember drinking a drop of alcohol tonight, but surely she must have without knowing. That explains the way her head is spinning and why her brain is shutting down.

"Josie, there's nothing to tell," Hope says finally, her voice hoarse and quiet enough that she hopes only Josie can pick up on it.

"Don't lie to her, Mikaelson," Penelope bites, causing Hope to shoot her a look. Why is Penelope doing this? Wasn't this whole plan to get back at Lizzie? Why is Penelope set on making _Hope_ miserable?

"Hope, what is she talking about?" Josie's definitely crying. The boy she had been flirting with earlier has left the scene, but that doesn't mean there are any less eyes on the three girls. Hope is holding onto the back of a camping chair for stability, glancing around at the countless people that are certainly watching. 

"Oh, _Jojo_ ," Penelope coos, her tone sounding fake and pitiful. "You think _Hope Mikaelson_ actually cared about you?"

Hope's heart feels like it's fallen to her stomach and her chest feels too tight. When did she start holding her breath? She feels like she might faint.

"Don't take it from me, Jo!" Penelope laughs. "She'll tell you herself!" She's pointing towards Hope now, who's still too shocked to register her surroundings. 

"Hope?"

Josie's voice is small. It sounds like it's a million miles away but when Hope looks at the girl, she's right in front of her, wringing her hands together nervously and letting thick tears stream down her cheeks.

Hope wants to reach out, to brush them away and hold Josie and take her away from her; But there's nothing she can do. 

Hope looks Josie in the eyes and takes a deep breath, not saying a word. Her silence is all the girl needs to hear, and Hope soon watches Josie flee the scene, bursting through a crowd of people to get away from Hope.

The crowd dissipates, murmuring about what they just witnessed.

Hope stands rigid in the middle of the woods, across from Penelope, who seems to still be amused by the whole situation.

"Why would you do this?" Hope asks, feeling tears form in her eyes. "What the _fuck_?"

"You said it yourself, Hope!" Penelope laughs. "I'm petty, and I'm a bitch, and a child, and I'm the girl that wasn't good enough for _fucking_ Josie Saltzman."

Hope starts to realize where this is coming from. 

"Maybe _I'm_ the idiot," Penelope continues. "Jokes on me, huh!"

"Penelope, what the fuck are you-"

"I thought she really loved me, you know? While we were dating. I gave her _everything,_ and all she wanted was you."

"What do you mean?" Why is _Penelope Park_ crying? 

"You're even stupider than I thought, Mikaelson," Penelope spits out, wiping tears from her eyes and smearing her eye makeup in the process. She looks like a crazy person. "You think I care so much about fucking _Lizzie Saltzman_ that I needed to use _you_ to get back at her?" Penelope scoffs once again. "I could give two shits about Lizzie." She says the girl's name like it's poison.

The tears in Hope's eyes have dried and her veins are almost _pulsing_ with anger. "So if you can't have her, no one can?" Hope asks, pressing her nails into her palms as she balls her hands into fists. "Josie broke up with you so you're ruining it for everyone else, huh? That makes you even _worse_ than Lizzie."

"She didn't break up with me over nothing, Mikaelson," Penelope says, sounding like a wounded animal. "She was in love with you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idek if anyone is still reading this but i like writing it so i'll probably finish it


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> josie's pov

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello!! thank you for all your comments and support on the last chapter:) it makes me so happy to know that you are enjoying this story, especially since i haven't been writing for a very long time. this chapter is shorter than the others and was honestly hard for me to write because i am not great at making people feel better in real life but i knew that's what this chapter needed. enjoy:)

Josie felt like her world was falling apart. 

The sobs that have been wracking through her body for the past hour haven't stopped, and she wants nothing more than to have the Mikaelson girl's arms around her, holding her, telling her nothing Penelope said was true. 

The other part of Josie never wants to see Hope again. She wasn't _friends_ with Hope in the first place, how hard can it be to stop talking to her? To cut her out of her life once again and act like the past days never happened?

Josie can't rid her mind of the way Hope made her felt. The night when they sat beneath the stars, Hope listening to Josie ramble on and on about the constellations and hanging on to her every word.

But none of it was real.

Josie thought that Hope Mikaelson was a lot of things. But she never took Hope for a liar.

Josie could deal with getting shit from Penelope, she'd been dealing with it for months now, ever since the breakup. For some reason, though, Hope lying to her hurts Josie somewhere deep in her chest.

\---

Josie hadn't let anyone in her cabin for hours. Lizzie was spending the night at Sebastian's, things still a little hostile from their fight earlier. Because of this, Josie's taken by surprise when she hears soft knocks at her door.

She's forced to sit up in her bed, head pounding from the tears combined with the alcohol. Josie feels like she's been in this position too many times this summer.

"Who is it?" she asks quietly, her voice timid and small. 

The door opens slowly, and Josie's fists clench in anticipation of who's on the other side.

She's relieved to see her mother's kind eyes appear from the other side of the door. Josie lets herself relax and lie back down on her bed.

"I take it you heard," Josie sniffles as her mother sits down on her bed. It is an un-Godly hour, and Josie's sure her mother is anything but thrilled to be awake.

"Lizzie told me," Caroline replies, stroking her daughter's hair lightly. "I'm sorry, honey."

Josie starts to cry again before her mother even finishes talking, letting herself curl up with her head in her mother's lap while she weeps. It's hard for Josie to put herself in his position. To be upset and let someone else take care of _her_ , not the other way around. 

Caroline hums quietly, her fingers feeling soft in Josie's hair. Josie appreciates her mom not trying to comfort her with words, or making her talk. Feeling the warmth of her body and the small sound coming from her lips is enough.

"I don't understand," Josie says finally, rubbing her nose with the back of her shirt sleeve. "Why me?"

Caroline thinks for a moment before responding. Josie's always admired this about her mother, the way she always says exactly what's on her mind; exactly what Josie needs to hear.

"You're one of the most special people I've ever met, Josie," her mother says. "You're selfless and kind and beautiful and anyone who gets to experience loving you is the luckiest person in the world."

Caroline lifts her daughter's chin, forcing Josie to look her mother in the eyes. Josie's cheeks blush, knowing that her face is surely blotchy and red.

"Sometimes you have to be selfish, though," Caroline continues. "You have to allow yourself to be upset with people when they hurt you." Josie's started to cry again, but in a different way. Her mom always knows how to hit a specific nerve when it comes to talking about Josie's feelings.

"This world is going to walk all over you," Josie's mother says. "You just have to be strong enough to fight back."

"What am I supposed to do?"

Josie's mother looks at her with a face Josie can't distinguish. "You loved her, Josie," she says simply. "But you have to love yourself more. Do what _you_ think is right, even if it hurts."

Not knowing exactly what her mother means, Josie just nods in response and closes her eyes, her mother resumes stroking her hair and humming while Josie drifts off to sleep.

\---

Every romantic comedy Josie's ever watched was correct: the morning after is always worse.

The slivers of sunlight that manage to creep through into Josie's room through her blinds hurt her eyes, and the noise of her alarm rings too loudly in her ears. 

Josie groans when she forces her eyes open before she hears a loud crash in the bathroom, practically causing her to jump out of her bed.

"Jo! I'm so sorry," her sister says, standing up from the bathroom floor. "I had to sneak in this morning to get ready and I didn't want to wake you up."

Josie is happy to see her sister happy this morning. All the hard feelings from the day before have faded; she has other things to be frustrated with that aren't her twin.

Josie pulls her sister into a big hug, and can tell Lizzie is relieved to be forgiven when she relaxes into Josie's arms.

"I'm so sorry," Josie mutters into her sister's shoulder. "I don't like being mad at you."

Lizzie pulls away to look Josie in the eye, holding both of her sisters' hands.

"If anyone should be sorry it should be me, Jo," Lizzie replies. "Now," she says, dropping her sister's hands and ushering her to the bathroom. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Josie glances at herself in the mirror, disheveled, with puffy eyes and a rat's nest for hair, and then back at her sister.

"Did you already forget?" Lizzie exclaims, taking a brush to Josie's hair. "It's game day!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed!! happy new year snd stream The EDIT!!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hope's pov!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! thank you for all the love on the last few chapters it makes me so happy and motivated:) this chapter is short and honestly a lot of alaric i apologize but i thought it was important for hope's story. anyways, the next couple chapters are gonna be angsty ngl but i promise it will get better soon. okay I'm gonna stop talking enjoy!

The tension in Alaric's office when Hope walks in is awkward. She's never seen the man super angry in all the years she's known him, but today seems to be the same.

_She just broke his daughter's heart and humiliated her in front of the entire camp, and he's not furious with her?_

"You can sit down, Hope." Alaric motions towards the seat across from him. Hope looks around for Penelope, thinking she'd be here.

"Penelope has been... dealt with," Alaric says matter-of-factly. "I talked to her earlier this morning and her parents came to pick her up an hour ago."

"You kicked her out??" Hope exclaims, not really surprised by the turnout. She wonders if Alaric and Caroline decided to send her home, too.

"She's not kicked out," Alaric says, using a tone Hope has never heard before. "She's just... suspended, per see." Hope rolls her eyes, knowing Penelope probably won't be back anytime this summer. Alaric turns back to her. 

"Would you like to tell your side of the story? The things Penelope told us didn't sound like you, Hope. She said this whole _thing_ was your idea." 

" _My idea_?" Hope exclaims. "Penelope confronted _me_!"

"Hope," Alaric spits out. "Just... tell me your side of the story."

Hope doesn't want to tell Alaric about all the times she screwed his daughter over. She doesn't want to think about the pain she's caused, Josie. 

But, she does. She tells Alaric everything. About their night under the stars and the day they visited town and bought art supplies. Josie had promised Hope they'd paint together one day. Hope figures it's her own fault for ruining that.

She even tells Alaric about kissing Josie. Though, she leaves out all the gory details.

By the time Hope tells Alaric about breaking Josie's heart, Hope's eyes have started to water, unable to let herself cry in front of the man who's been her father figure for the last couple of years. Especially about his own daughter.

Alaric sits back in his chair, sighing in what Hope thinks must be disappointment, but with an empathetic look on his face. Hope resorts to just staring at her hands, which rest uncomfortably in her lap.

Alaric stays silent for a long time, presumably not being able to find the right response. Hope knows that her relationship with him is closer than what he has with other campers. After Hope's parents died, Alaric and Caroline were a big help, especially in the first year or so. Hope wonders what she'd say to a girl that broke her own daughter's heart.

"Are you gonna..." Hope trails off. "Am I gonna get suspended, too?" She still refuses to meet Alaric's eyes, even when he sighs and begins to speak.

"I'm not going to make you leave, Hope," the man says. "I want to tell you a story."

Hope glances up at Alaric, who is speaking too nonchalantly for the situation they're in.

"No offense, Mr. Saltzman, but I don't think it's time for stories at the moment. I should probably go apolig-"

"You have all the time in the world to do that," he responds, which puzzles Hope. There are only a couple of weeks left of camp.

"Your father was in love with my wife," Alaric says simply. "A part of me didn't want to believe it, but I knew she felt the same way about him. When she gave birth to the twins, though, something changed. When your father passed away," Hope's body tenses at the mention of her father, "she threw everything into helping you cope. Into making this camp a place for you and all the kids to come and forget what's going on outside of here." Alaric's voice shakes while he speaks, sounding less confident than he usually does. Hope remains stoic.

Alaric continues on. "I don't doubt that my wife loves me," he says. "But Caroline lost the chance to be with the person she loved... differently."

"I don't understand," Hope says simply, tears once again pressing on the backs of her eyelids. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Your father's relation with Caroline was complicated. I'm sure, at times, they had their moments, but he cared for her in a way I can only dream of caring for my wife." He takes another moment, choosing his words carefully. 

"I hope and pray that one day, my daughters will find someone that loves them as deeply and truly as your father loved their mother."

The combination of the previous days' events and mention of her father sends Hope over the edge, and she finally allows herself to react the way she's been needing to this entire time.

A sob gets stuck in her throat at first, and then the dam breaks, and she's crying and hyperventilating in _Alaric Saltzman's_ office of all places. 

Still not fully sure that she understands what the man is saying, Hope allows herself to cry for a moment longer before calming herself down. 

"Give her a few days," Alaric says once Hope contains herself. "Apologize to her and take the response she gives you, good or bad. Show her you truly care about her, Hope."

With that, Hope exits the office building, wiping tears from her blotchy face, hoping no one is able to tell she's been crying hysterically just m moment ago. She heads towards her cabin, passing groups of people wearing the Salvatore Camp t-shirts, and realizes what she's forgotten.

It's game day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed! also if you are interested, i made a tumblr (mostly bc i am too scared to make a stan account on twitter) but if you have one follow me if you'd like! i have no idea how to use it but my acct name is the same one as on here:) should i just make a twitter idk if anyone would follow okay bye much love


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope's pov:)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i'm in quarantine at the moment, and i thought i'd have more time to write since i wouldn't be at school but it turns out my writer's block is just as bad love that. anyways this chapter is pretty short I'm sorry, but it works for what i have planned

Hope reluctantly pulls her field day shirt over her head, and looks herself in the mirror before she leaves her cabin.

_It's just Josie_ , she says to herself. _You've been friends with her for years, you can talk to her._

She adjusts her outfit and fixes her hair before stepping out of her cabin.

Someone has decorated the camp with signs and blue and yellow banners, the camp's colors. 

Hope's skin feels uncomfortable under her field day outfit, the guilt clawing at her insides. She can't seem to see Josie anywhere but thinks it might be for the better. If she sees the girl, she has no idea what she'll say, or worse, what she'd do. She wants nothing more than to comfort Josie, apologize for the pain Hope's sure she's caused. But she knows she's probably the last person Josie wants to see at the moment.

Today is the worst possible day for this to be happening. If Josie never shows up, Hope knows she can't take on the group of kids by herself.

Someone approaches Hope, pulling her out of her thoughts.

Thankfully, it's not the girl. It's MG, holding a clipboard, blue and yellow paint striped under his eyes. 

"MG?" Hope asks, puzzled. "Where's Josie?"

"Jo and I switched groups. She's gonna stick with Lizzie today," MG replies, trying not to meet Hope's eyes. 

"Is she okay? I..." Hope trails off. If she can't even talk about it with MG, how will she be able to apologize to Josie?

"What do you think, Hope?" MG replies, his tone not angry but far from friendly. "You broke her heart. I'm not exactly your biggest fan either. Jo's my best friend."

"I didn't think she cared that much," Hope whispers, too ashamed to hear herself say it. 

MG looks at Hope like she's too thick to understand the severity of the situation. "You don't get it, do you, Hope?" Hope doesn't reply. "She... cared about you. A lot." Hope looks at MG with a pleading look, yearning for him to say more but he just shakes his head. "I shouldn't be the one telling you everything."

"What do I _do_?" Hope practically begs.

"Give her time, Hope," MG replies, which is probably the last thing Hope wants to hear. "Today isn't the day to confess your feelings for her. Just-"

"My _feelings_?!" Hope exclaims. "What do you know about what I feel for Josie? I- I mean _if_ I felt something for Josie."

MG rolls his eyes like it's the most obvious question in the world.

"You're not exactly _subtle_ , Hope. The whole camp knows you've been pining over her for _years_."

If MG keeps talking, Hope can't hear it. She can feel her face get impossible hot and can only imagine how red her cheeks must've turned.

"Th-The _whole camp_?" Hope gulps, her words getting stuck in her throat. 

Before MG can answer, their group of kids run up, interrupting Hope and MG's conversation.

"Where's Jo?" Pedro immediately asks at seeing MG and Hope standing together. "I've been practicing my kick!" The little boy pantomimes kicking a soccer ball, tripping on his feet in the process.

MG laughs and pats Pedro on his shoulders, ushering him to sit down with the other kids. "Jo had to go coach with her sister today," he explains. "But I'm cool, too, right?"

All the kids boo and laugh as MG tries to entertain them, but Hope isn't amused by any of it. She lets MG take the reins, partly because she's never been good with kids, but also because she's painfully paranoid now.

Surely, if everyone at camp knows about her little crush on Josie, the girl herself must have heard word of it. If Hope wasn't currently fucked, she might have been relieved by this news, thinking that Josie's knowledge of Hope's crush would make it easier for Hope to talk to her. now, though, she thinks it makes her situation even more pitiful. 

Hope finds herself absent-mindedly looking around for the girl, searching for the tell-tale brunette locks and pouty lips. 

"...right Hope?" a voice says, which forces Hope to whip her head back around to face her group, who are all staring her down. Hope is reminded of why kids make her so uncomfortable.

"Um... what?" she asks awkwardly.

"I was telling the kids how I've seen them practicing and I think we have a chance at doing well this year!" MG says cheerfully, fully aware that Hope's mind is elsewhere.

"Uh... yeah!" Hope replies. "We should get going. That soccer game usn;t gonna win itself!" She winks at Pedro, which makes the young boy smile, and wonders if her interacting with the kids is making Josie proud.

\---

Not surprisingly, Hope and MG's group gets crushed during the soccer game. Jed's group absolutely creams them, leaving Hope and MG with 10 crying kids.

"Hey, it's no big deal, guys!" MG says, attempting to cheer the kids up. He runs a finger down his clipboard. "We still have the tug-of-war, three-legged race, and the talent show competition! We're bound to get a win in one of those."

The kids continue pouting and Hope diverts her attention away from them, glancing around search for Josie once again.

She catches sight of the blonde twin first, standing on the other side of the soccer field, clipboard in hand, yelling at a group of fifth-graders. Then Hope spots Josie, just the sight of the girl making her breath get stuck in her lungs.

She looks... fine. Like the events of last night and the past few days haven't affected her at all. Hope wonders if this is really the case, or if Josie is feeling just as broken up inside as Hope is.

Hope catches the brunette's eye, her smile immediately faltering and her cheeks overwhelming with blush. Hope cracks a smile back at the girl but it met with nothing. Josie turns around quickly, facing back towards her group of campers.

Hope feels her body freeze and mentally curses herself for letting Josie have such an effect on her. 

She turns back to her group, once again seeing the kids staring at her, as well as MG.

"Hope? Why do you look so weird?" Pedro asks, pointing towards her.

"You okay Hope?" MG asks, moving closer to her. "You don't look so good."

"Did it just get hot? It feels really hot," Hope rambles, putting a hand on MG's shoulder.

Hope's hearing goes in and out, and her vision starts to get blurry. She vaguely hears MG's voice calling for Alaric and sees people running over to her.

Hope's legs feel wobbly and her head starts to swim, and the last thing she is aware of before she passes out is Josie's worried brown eyes above her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you liked this! i PROMISE there will be more hosie soon:))


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope's POV! (italics are all a flashback:))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello!! sorry its taken me so long to update,, i had rehearsals and performances for my school's musical and it was a super busy time for me.plus writer's block of course. i hope you enjoy this chapter! i threw some fluff in there to make up for my poorly-written angst. lmk what you think:)

_In all seven years of her life, Hope had never met a girl prettier than her mother._

_That was, until, she met her father's old friend's daughters._

_Miss Caroline's daughters were twins that she'd come to know as Lizzie and Josie, one blonde and one brunette, and both very kind to Hope when she first met them. Hope thought that Lizzie was funny and a bit bossy, but she was nice if they let her pick whatever game they were going to play. Hope thought that Josie, on the other hand, was perfect. She always had her hair tied up with a pretty ribbon and smelled like cookies right out of the oven._

_Hope thought her new friend might have been as pretty as her mom._

\---

_When Hope was 10, she became better friends with the Saltzman girl. Lizzie and MG got close that summer and were too busy to hang out with Hope and Josie anymore, so the two of them spent a lot of time in the cabin that they all shared, Josie braiding Hope's hair and Hope reading Josie whatever school book she'd been assigned that summer._

_"What do you think MG and Lizzie are doing?" Josie asked Hope softly, hands pulling apart a braid from Hope's hair._

_"I don't know," Hope hummed, enjoying the feeling of her friend's fingers in her hair._

_"Do you think they kiss?" Josie asks, Hope hearing the concern and curiosity in Josie's voice._

_Hope straightened up nervously. "Ew," she replied quickly. "Why would they do that?"_

_"Lizzie says they like each other," Josie replies nonchalantly. "That's what people do when they're friends and like each other, right?"_

_Hope turned towards Josie, about to laugh before she sees the strange look on Josie's face._

_"Well, we're friends," Hope said. "Are we supposed to do that?"_

_"I don't know," Josie said softly, a strange blush appearing on her cheeks. "Can girls do that?"_

_"You were at my aunts' wedding," Hope replied. "They kissed."_

_"I'm sure they like each other a lot," Josie replied, fiddling with her fingers._

_Hope noted the nervous look on Josie's face and took her hand, forcing the girl to look up at her. Before Josie could register what was going on, Hope was leaning closer, pressing a peck to her lips, and immediately pulling away._

_"There," Hope said, dropping Josie's hand. "Now we're best friends."_

_Hope turned around once again and waited for Josie to return her hands to her hair, but she couldn't feel her friend near her anymore._

_Later that summer, Josie's dad told Hope that they probably shouldn't stay in the same cabin anymore._

_\---_

_When Hope was 13 she got a boyfriend. When he kissed her, it felt different from when Hope had kissed her friend all those years ago._

_\---_

_When Hope was 15, her parents passed away. The Saltzman's sent a card, but Josie's name had been signed in her father's handwriting._

_\---_

Hope's eyes fluttered open to the feeling of someone stroking her hair.

She wasn't outside anymore, rather in Alaric Saltzman's office, the AC blowing and the lights shining too-bright for Hope's tired eyes.

"Hope," a voice says softly, the hands in her hair coming to a halt. "You're awake."

Hope immediately saw the eyes above her relax and could recognize their deep brown hue anywhere.

_Josie._

Josie! 

How could the girl even look at Hope with what Hope had just done to her?

"Josie, I'm so-" Hope began, but was interrupted by a shushing noise coming from the other girl's lips and Josie's hands pushing Hope's shoulders back towards the couch.

"Can we not talk about it right now?" Josie asked. "Not today. You've been through enough today."

Hope will never understand how Josie can remain empathetic, even after Hope just screwed her over.

"What happened?" Hope asked, holding her head heavy in her hands.

Josie shrugged. "You collapsed on the field right before Lizzie and I's soccer game. MG said maybe you had a panic attack or heat stroke. You were paler than usual apparently," Josie continued, which made Hope laugh and nudger the other girl. 

Josie's smile dropped soon after and returns her fingers to Hope's hair, brushing a lock of hair out of her face. The room fell into a comfortable but unpleasant silence. Hope knew she had to say something.

"Josie, we need to..." Hope trails off. "I don't know what to say to you." Hope sat up, ignoring Josie's pleads for her to stay lying down, and props herself up on her elbows, facing the other girl. "How are you so calm about this? I- What I did was a terrible thing. I let Penelope get in my head and I acted on feelings that I..."

Josie's face goes red and Hope can't stop her words before they come out, but Josie just swallows thickly and speaks. "I don't want to hear about it, Hope. Really," Josie says again, sternly this time. "My mom told me a lot of things that I wasn't ready to hear. That I wasn't ready to admit."

Hope doesn't want to hear what Josie has to say next. She knows that if she was in Josie's shoes, she'd be furious; she'd lash out, just like her father would do. But Josie is different. She's kind and understanding, she'd forgive Hope, surely?

Hope knows that she doesn't deserve Josie's grace.

The room has gone silent and Hope was too lost in her thoughts to notice. Josie's closed her eyes, lost in what seems like a memory. Hope can't get over the way the sight of Josie makes her feel, and will never forgive herself for causing the girl pain.

"Do you remember that summer?" Josie began. "When I was eight, you were 10?"

"And I kissed you," Hope finished, laughing in embarrassment and nostalgia. "Your dad almost kicked me out of camp for pulling that."

Josie let out a giggle and blushed which made Hope smile.

"That was my first kiss," Josie said simply, smiling at the memory. Hope wished she knew what was happening in the girl's head. "I immediately told Lizzie about it, who said I shouldn't have kissed my friend."

"That explains why you stopped talking to me," Hope replied, noting the look of regret that washed over Josie's face at the comment.

"Lizzie told me you and I weren't friends like she and MG were," Josie continued. "That they liked each other. They were _more_ than friends." Josie got quiet for a moment. Hope has now sat up with her back against the arm of the couch, legs extended, with Josie sitting normally on the couch next to her. Hope ignores the headache that still pounds behind her forehead as Josie talks; too focused on the sound of the girl's voice.

"I think Lizzie was right," she speaks up again. "I think we were different than her and MG."

Josie looks at Hope intensely when she speaks, not wanting Hope to miss a word she says. "I don't think they felt half the same way that I felt about you."

Hope swallows thickly, Josie's words sending a flutter of nerves to her stomach. Hope silently prays she doesn't vomit or pass out again.

" _Feel_ about you," Josie says.

" _Why_ , Jo?" Hope asked, too shocked to register what Josie's words meant. "I was _horrible_ to you."

"I talked to my mom," Josie said with a shrug, like it was the easiest answer in the world. "What you did hurt, but what we have is- different -than anything I've ever experienced."

"Penelope Park said I was the reason you two broke up," Hope questioned. "She was trying to-"

"Get back at me, I'm sure," Josie interrupted. "Like I said, I talked to my mom. The disadvantages of loving a Mikaelson, I guess," she finishes with a laugh.

Hope's eyes widen. "You-"

"Can we not talk about it?" Josie asks with a cringe. "I'm trying to be more selfish but I'm really not ready to go too much into it."

Hope laughs softly at the other girl. She takes Josie's hand instead, holding it in her own, the simple touch sending heat waves straight to her chest. Hope's forgotten the familiar butterflies that come along with being in such close proximity to Josie.

"Take all the time you need, Jo," Hope replied, leaning in closer to the girl. Hope watches as Josie's eyed flutter closed and she's grateful that Josie can't see her blush when she lets out a shallow breath.

Hope runs her thumb across Josie's pouty bottom lip before pressing her lips to the girls', relishing in the warmth that comes with kissing Josie Saltzman.

Josie sighs once again and smiles against Hope's mouth before pressing her forehead against the other girl's. Josie opens her mouth to speak but is cut off by the door bursting open.

"Jo! You won't believe what-" Lizzie exclaims, having no regard that Hope could have still been passed out in the office. "Ew."

The two girls jerk away from each other, Hope almost falling off of the side of the couch in surprise. 

"Well, I'm glad to see _you two_ are close again," Lizzie groans sarcastically, rolling her eyes. The view of Hope half hanging off the couch and Josie all flustered, one hand ghosting over her mouth must be comical to Lizzie. Hope knows she'll relish in the thought of catching them off guard later, but for now, is more preoccupied with whatever she burst in there to say.

Lizzie pulls a trophy that'd been hiding behind her back, showing off a grin that reaches from ear to ear. "We won field day, Jo!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! this turned out shorter than i expected sO sorry... but i hope you enjoyed this chapter

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed this!! please lmk what you think:)


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